


Tasting Flight

by lurkdusoleil



Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Slavery, M/M, Multiple Pairings, Sexual Slavery, Threesome - M/M/M, klaine endgame
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-13
Updated: 2013-07-12
Packaged: 2017-12-19 07:40:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 12
Words: 68,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/881210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lurkdusoleil/pseuds/lurkdusoleil
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blaine has been a slave in Sebastian's household for ten years. But never in that time has he met someone like Kurt, who is now his duty to train for Sebastian.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is a modern AU where slavery (including sexual slavery) is legal and fairly common. The warnings reflect that, and it's important that you pay attention. Nothing is hugely graphic, but please keep them in mind and feel free to message me if they concern you. I will be labeling this story as "non-con" as a category, so if it's a concern please let me know, but it will not feature heavily.
> 
> Klaine is the endgame. However, there will be several other pairings (non-romantic) as well. Please heed the warnings.
> 
> Warnings include: Slavery (including the sale and treatment of humans as objects or property), non-con, dub-con, multiple sexual partners (in some instances while in a monogamous romantic relationship), controlled lifestyle, physical abuse, eventual instances of psychological/sexual torture, ageism, sexualization of and sexual contact with minors (youngest mentioned is 13; biggest age gap is 16 and 26; innocence!kink is involved), brief mention of STDs, mentions of kidnapping, clinical sexual contact, multiple graphic instances of voyeurism and/or multiple-participant sexual contact

_“Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.” -Leonardo DaVinci_

\--  
  
Blaine wakes before the sun rises every morning. As head slave, it’s his duty to wake and prepare the rest of the slave boys before taking one (whoever was ordered the previous night) with him to wake their Master. He pulls the boy aside, stopping him from dressing (clothes aren’t needed), makes sure his hair is fixed and any needed makeup is applied, and guides him to their Master’s bedroom. Generally speaking, the slave boy knows what to expect, and then it’s a simple matter of entering the bedroom as quietly as possible and waiting for the boy to perform his duties while he prepares his Master’s bath.  
  
He stays in the bathroom while the slave boy sucks his Master off, blocking out the noises involved with the ease of practice. But it usually doesn’t take long for Sebastian to finish up and come sauntering into the bathroom, smiling at Blaine standing near the massive bathtub, completely unself-conscious of his nakedness as he slips into the warm water.  
  
From there, it’s a matter of doing what Sebastian says. He’s a busy man--one of the most prestigious slave dealers in the country and the owner of several slave farms--and he needs someone to see to the mundane aspects of his life. So Blaine takes care of the details--what meals he wishes to eat, which slave he would like to pleasure him and when, what paperwork must be done, and what meetings he must attend. Blaine memorizes all of it, standing still beside the bathtub until Sebastian’s ready to get out, at which point he dries his Master and dresses him according to his wishes.  
  
That’s usually the last he has to do with Sebastian until dinnertime. He relays all wishes to the cooks, to Sebastian's clerk, to the house slaves, and then finally to the bed slaves, with whom he spends his days--technically, he is one.  
  
Blaine was born on a slave farm. He has some memories of his mother and an older brother, but the older brother was much older and taken away to another part of the farm for training when Blaine was still a toddler. Slaves born on farms stayed with their mothers until puberty, at which time they’d be apportioned to a training camp on the opposite end of the farm. Some became house slaves, fit for cleaning and cooking and generally overseeing the care of a household. Some became work slaves, who worked in mines and other places where heavy labor was needed. Some became breeders--beautiful women who were somehow unfit for other tasks, and men who were no longer able to work in their respective jobs.  
  
The last of them were the bed slaves. The most beautiful specimens, taken and trained in the art of sex. Blaine had been sent to train as a bed slave just after his thirteenth birthday, selected for his dark curls and wide eyes, his eager disposition and his charming smile. He’d been a handsome boy, and so it wasn’t really any surprise when sixteen-year-old Sebastian, son of the farm’s owner and a well-known dealer, bought him not too long after his fourteenth birthday.  
  
He’s been with Sebastian for ten years, now. It’s been a few years since Sebastian used him regularly for pleasure--he’s past his prime, despite his relative youth. Bed slaves are usually only kept until their twentieth birthday, at which point they’re considered unstylish, but Blaine had been useful to Sebastian. So he’d been kept, to act as Sebastian’s personal slave and to oversee the household. Not that Sebastian doesn’t use him on occasion--he’s still very beautiful, sharper and more angled with maturity, but still with the readiness to please and sweetness of face that got him in this position in the first place.  
  
He’s in a good position; it’s one of respect and power, though not necessarily so bluntly put. He has influence with his Master, and he controls much of the daily goings-on of the house. Not that Blaine ever really takes advantage of that--he’s a kind soul, not given to the politics generally associated with his job. But it makes him good at what he does, and people are eager to please him, so it all falls into place.  
  
It helps with the slave boys. There are usually five of them at any given time, with Blaine as their head, an older brother type. They range from thirteen to nineteen years at any given time, and they’re all beautiful and well-trained. Blaine makes sure of it, and he makes sure of their comfort. Sebastian is, after all, fabulously wealthy, and he likes to spoil those who please him. So life in the harem is luxurious and comfortable, and in return for learning a few bed tricks, it’s not a bad place to be.  
  
Blaine whiles his time away in the harem for most of the day, reading and playing games with the other boys. He likes to sing, and is encouraged to practice so that Sebastian can show him off--he’s still a commodity, after all, and Sebastian likes to entertain guests and rub their faces in his enviable life. He performs at dinnertime, as well, keeping Sebastian entertained with stories and song while Sebastian eats, and he even gets to sample whatever delicacy is on the plate; poison is a common form of political ground-gaining, and Sebastian has the ear of many powerful people. They buy their slaves from him, after all, and he has a lot of favors he can call in. It’s a position a lot of people would literally kill for.  
  
After dinner, Sebastian sends Blaine to fetch a slave to lie with him, and it’s Blaine’s job to make sure the boy prepares himself well enough to avoid injury--an injured slave is a waste of money, and an unprepared slave is a waste of time. But for the most part, the boys know their duties, and they go off to please their Master without complaint.  
  
Nighttime is filled with beauty regimens--the boys are prized possessions and treated as such, so they have a gorgeous bath house all to themselves, with expensive products to keep them soft and pretty. Their beds are comfortable, and wide, and they’re encouraged to share them when they aren’t required by their Master, as long as they don’t mark each other or make it difficult to perform their duties should they be called upon. It keeps them in practice, and happy slaves perform better in bed.   
  
Occasionally, Sebastian does choose a favorite. Blaine himself was in that position years ago; he has ample reason to know that punishment awaits whoever dares touch Sebastian’s favorite toy.   
  
It’s the reason Blaine hasn’t touched another slave. Not since Jeremiah. And his reticence is only strengthened when Sebastian lets him know one morning that they’ll be seeing his associates that day--the men who go out and select slaves from the farms, or purchase them from willing families looking for money.   
  
“I’ll need the paperwork on anyone who’s requested a viewing for slaves, and what kinds they’re looking for,” he says, allowing Blaine to straighten his clothes. “My dealers are bringing in a small group tonight, and whoever I don’t select can be sold off immediately.”  
  
Blaine is careful not to give anything away on his face, but he’s instantly aware of the implications. Thankfully, he’s well-liked enough to be able to ask questions.  
  
“Does this mean you are keeping one of the slaves for yourself, Master?” he asks evenly. Sebastian smirks.  
  
“Yes,” he replies. “I’m in need of someone to replace Chandler.”  
  
“Is Chandler to be sold, Master?” Blaine’s confusion is evident--Chandler was only seventeen, and an eager participant in whatever Sebastian had ordered. He’d been one of Sebastian’s best slaves, and he’d even been called to Sebastian’s bed the night before.  
  
“He’s already been removed from the premises,” Sebastian answers carelessly as Blaine runs a lint roller over the shoulders of his blazer. “And you’ll have to remind the slaves that if they attend one of my parties, they’re to use protection at all times. If I find that another of my slaves contracts a disease again, I’ll have to insist that you check them regularly, and I have better use of my time and money than for testing my slaves.”  
  
“Yes, Master,” Blaine replies, quietly hating his duties for a moment. “I’ll go over proper procedure with the boys again.”  
  
“Good. In the meantime, you have your orders. Bring the paperwork with you to supper--I’ll be viewing the slaves after I eat.”  
  
“Yes, Master.”  
  
\--  
  
The boys are mostly flippant about the news.  
  
“We were kind of expecting it,” Jeff says, after Blaine was done with explaining why Chandler had been removed from the slave quarters that morning.  
  
“Did you know about the STD?” Blaine asks. Jeff immediately shakes his head.  
  
“No! We’d have told you if we did. But I mean...come on, it’s Chandler.”  
  
Blaine knows what he means. Chandler had been eager--maybe a little too eager--and all too prone to forgetfulness in the face of the opportunity to pleasure someone. It had been one of his better qualities and the reason Sebastian had enjoyed him as a slave, but it was one of the firmest rules of the house that if a slave were called upon to please another Master or even another slave, they had to use protection. Chandler had forgotten, and he’d paid the price.  
  
“Well, we’ll have a new member after dinner tonight,” Blaine says. “If one of you could fetch a house slave to clean out his room, I’d appreciate it. And try to be nice--you know Sebastian only buys fresh slaves so he’s bound to be young and scared. I’m looking at you, Jesse.”  
  
Jesse raises and eyebrow and scoffs lightly.  
  
“Me?” he asks, his face totally blank but for a faint smile, his eyes boring into Blaine’s. “I apologize, but if a slave is going to make it in this household, he has to have a thick skin. I’m more than happy to help make sure that the boys are adequately hardened to the--”  
  
“Jesse, you made Jeff cry his first night here,” Nick cut in, a hint of anger coloring his voice. He and Jeff had been involved since the second week of Jeff’s placement in their midst, once it had become clear that Sebastian wasn’t going to make a fuss about either of them. “I don’t think telling a new slave boy that he should get used to pain and telling lies about all the horrible things Sebastian likes is going to harden him. It’s just going to make him not like you.”  
  
Jesse shrugs. “If he can’t take it, he shouldn’t be in the household of a man like Sebastian.”  
  
“Jesse, enough,” Blaine interrupts, grimacing. “Be nice. And to make sure you are I’ll be warning whoever joins us that you’re a pathological liar, so all your fun is already taken out.”  
  
“Fine,” Jesse agrees sullenly. “If that’s how my loyalty and dedication to the perfection of his household are treated, I will make no more efforts.”  
  
“Thank you,” Blaine says simply. He turns to Nick. “Sebastian wants you after lunch, by the way. I’ll grab you around twelve-thirty and get you ready, and then you’ll have to be in his office by one. He wants you waiting under his desk.”  
  
“Of course he does,” Nick complains, rolling his eyes. “And there are probably going to be people in the room again. I hate having to be quiet.”  
  
“I know you do,” Jeff jokes, slapping Nick’s ass playfully as they leave.  
  
Blaine smiles as they leave, glad they’ve found happiness together even in their enslavement. They were both purchases, bought from their homes against their will, and they’d had a tough time when they’d entered the house, Nick three years ago and Jeff only six months ago. They’re both sixteen, and very much in love.  
  
On the other hand, Jesse and Hunter are nasty pieces of work sometimes. Jesse is eighteen, Hunter nineteen, and they’re both farm slaves, trained from an early age to please anybody. Sebastian doesn’t use them much anymore--he mostly keeps Jesse around for the morning ritual, at which he is particularly skilled, and Hunter keeps any women that attend his parties happy, being technically straight and not particularly enthusiastic when serving his Master. But they’re both reaching their peak, and Blaine knows they’re hoping to take his place if they can, before they’re sold. They’re not given to kindness or camaraderie with the other boys--they’re competitors, first and foremost.   
  
Blaine wonders where the new boy will fit in.  
  
\--  
  
The dining room is set up like an ode to ancient hedonism--the main table is low and instead of dining chairs, there’s a long fainting couch set up beside it so that Sebastian can relax while he eats his meal. There are other, smaller couches ready to join that table for private dinners, but usually it’s just Sebastian, with Blaine seated cross-legged on the ground beside him. The remainder of the room has similar tables and couches, ready for parties and gatherings, but they’re pushed aside tonight.  
  
Sebastian finishes his meal and lounges back on the couch, half-sitting against the arm while his long legs stretch out before him. Blaine stays sitting near his feet, perched on a soft cushion, occasionally refilling Sebastian’s wine glass.  
  
“Let them in now,” Sebastian calls.  
  
One of the guards on the room opens the door and calls in Sebastian’s dealers. They’d arrived before dinner had even begun, and Sebastian had kept them waiting. Blaine suspects he takes some delight in provoking others and seeing how far they’ll go, but the dealers enter without any sign that they’re in the least bit vexed by their wait.  
  
“Gentlemen,” Sebastian says genially, smiling at them and sprawling casually out as they come in, several boys in hooded cloaks and chains shuffling in their midst. There are four dealers and eight slaves, and Sebastian raises an eyebrow.  
  
“This is all you have to bring me?” he asks, his voice perfectly polite. Blaine knows the danger behind that and watches the scene carefully.  
  
“The breeders on the farms are turning out more workers and house slaves than bed slaves,” one of them answers. “We can’t help that. Maybe you should select some different breeders.”  
  
“Eight slaves is not acceptable turnout,” Sebastian snaps. “Are there any promising children?”  
  
“A few,” the same replies. “But you should still find different breeders. These just aren’t turning out enough acceptable slaves.”  
  
“Well, I have two slaves nearing the end of their use,” Sebastian says easily. “Handsome, the both of them. If you can promise me that there are acceptable replacements on the way, I’ll hand them off to you to take over from whatever pathetic sires you’ve got on those farms of yours.”  
  
“You can look at what we’ve got tonight,” another dealer says. “If they’re enough for you, we’ll leave them and take your old boys with us. Otherwise, you’ll have to wait a year or two for new boys.”  
  
Sebastian nods. “That’s acceptable. Show me the wares.”  
  
Blaine always hates this part. New slaves are always so terrified--Sebastian doesn’t buy used, and it’s always their first job. Learning how to please someone on a farm is much different than actually having to please them in real life, and so much rides on being acceptable to a new master, especially one as important as Sebastian. He hates watching as they battle with themselves over whether they should be scared of Sebastian or hopeful that he’ll pick them. Despite all the wonderful perks of living like this, Blaine can’t help but feel sick that anyone would choose it. Trapped, caged, pretty porcelain birds on a gilded shelf. And it’s possibly the best life a slave can hope for. Sebastian is a demanding master, but he’s far better than others out there, and slaves have no legal rights to protect them from a master who wants to beat and brutalize them or keep them in actual cages. It’s not uncommon.  
  
Watching them decide to be eager for enslavement at all just...twists something in his gut.  
  
One by one the dealers show their candidates. They’re pretty, but Blaine can tell from Sebastian’s face that none of them are pleasing to him. He waves by one after another until one is left.  
  
Blaine’s been curious about this one since they started showing. The dealer who spoke first had pulled the tall boy back and kept his hood deliberately over his face, allowing everyone else to go first. But now that he was the only one left, he stepped up, a disconcerting smirk on his face.  
  
“This one didn’t come from the farms,” he says. “I was at the Ohio farm and got approached by someone looking to sell him. I thought you might be interested.”  
  
By the way the boy turned to look at the dealer, he either didn’t know he’d been sold, or the dealer was lying. Neither would be a surprise, though he’s certain that either way, the boy was taken forcibly. The way the cloak shakes around his trembling body gives away the utter terror that only comes with finding yourself somewhere you had only thought yourself to be in your deepest nightmares.  
  
But all thoughts of the boy’s origins slipped away when his hood is removed.  
  
Blaine knows instantly that Sebastian will select this boy. He is young--probably no more than sixteen--but he’s already tall and slim, his face showing only traces of baby fat. He is beautiful in a sharp, elfin way, and Blaine knows that when the boy reaches full maturity he’ll be even more stunning. At a wave of Sebastian’s hand, his cloak is taken completely away, leaving him standing there naked, his quivering hands trying fruitlessly to cover himself despite the shackles. He is already lithe and has the beginnings of strong, sinewy muscle and masculine grace. He skin is delicate and pale, flushed deep red from his evident mortification.  
  
Blaine wants to keep looking, but he knows Sebastian will notice his staring. Instead, he focuses on Sebastian himself.  
  
By the look on his face, he’s right. Sebastian is going to keep him. He’s rarely seen Sebastian look so...eager. Maybe not since Blaine himself had been purchased a decade prior. And Blaine had not only been Sebastian’s first slave, but had remained his favorite for years. Something about this boy awakened an excitement and a hunger in Sebastian that made Blaine ache with sympathy for the boy’s coming entrapment and undoubtedly heavy use.  
  
“How old is he?”  
  
The dealer grins. “Sixteen.”  
  
Sebastian nods, waving Blaine forward. Blaine holds out the paperwork, and the slave dealer approached to grab it and hands Blaine the key to the shackles, leading the poor boy along with him.  
  
“I’ll sign the paperwork tomorrow,” Sebastian says. “Leave him. The rest, bring them around to the households on the list.”  
  
The dealer nods, and leads the rest of them out, herding the rejected slaves out as quickly as possible. As soon as they’re gone, Sebastian stands, moving around the table to circle the boy. Blaine stands as well, but he stays back, waiting to do his Master’s bidding.  
  
“Name.”  
  
The boy lifts his chin, doing his best to look down his nose at Sebastian despite being shorter and still trembling from fear. Blaine’s heart instantly goes out to him.  
  
“Kurt Hummel.”  
  
His voice is high, clear and sharp.   
  
“Well, Kurt Hummel,” Sebastian replies, the grin of a predator on his face, “you’ve just been purchased a bed slave. Do you know what that means?”  
  
Kurt’s lip quivers, but he’s otherwise impassive as he nods once, jerky and sharp.  
  
“Good. Then you’ll have no trouble adjusting to what is expected of you. Blaine here is seniormost of my boys; as far as you’re concerned he’s in charge and you’ll do as he says. And all his orders come directly from me, so you’ll face me if you disobey. Do you understand?”  
  
“I’m not an imbecile.”  
  
Blaine’s eyes widen, and it instantly feels like the room is holding its breath. His eyes dart between his Master and the boy standing still naked under their scrutiny, his head held a touch too high and his trembling still not quieted. But his voice had been strong and sharp, a clear attack. An offense as a method of defense. Against Sebastian, there’s never any telling how it could be taken--he is an unpredictable man, and there is an equal chance of Kurt being beaten for his temerity as there is of being praised for having spirit.  
  
Blaine can see from the amusement on Sebastian’s face that he has come to the same conclusion about Kurt’s misguided attempt to shield himself, and is, hopefully, not taking offense.  
  
“I like your fire,” Sebastian says approvingly. “It will come in useful.”  
  
He gives Kurt another searching, appraising once-over and nods, a self-satisfied smirk on his face. He turns to Blaine.  
  
“Bring him to my rooms,” he commands. “I’ll be ready for him as soon as I’ve showered away the stench of the farm boys.”  
  
Blaine bows his head in acquiescence, but he’s very much aware of the time limit enforced by that order--Sebastian never takes too long to shower. So he asks quietly, as a reminder, “Shall I prepare him first, Master?”  
  
“No,” Sebastian replies, surprising Blaine. “I think I have other plans for this one.”  
  
Blaine keeps his head bowed and doesn’t question as Sebastian brushes past him and leaves the room. But his stomach clenches and he fills with trepidation on the poor boy’s behalf. To be honest, there are many things Sebastian could have planned, but he’s certain that it won’t be some gentle introduction into his sexuality. Sebastian has a habit of “breaking in” the boys that resist, and Blaine has had to comfort more than one boy on his first night with their Master, coming back torn and hurting after being taught their place more efficiently than any whip could accomplish.   
  
Blaine looks up at Kurt and is filled with the desire to memorize him as he is--untouched, beautiful, young, innocent. And as Kurt’s frightened eyes meet his own, he knows that Kurt really doesn’t know what’s in store for him. He might know the stories, the rumors, what he sees on television or in the movies, but being a slave is only something that a slave can understand, and Kurt’s still free of that everlasting burden of not being a person.  
  
For a few more moments, he still has his wings.  
  
But it can’t last.  
  
“Come on,” Blaine says kindly, smiling softly at Kurt. He feels Kurt’s eyes on him as he steps forward and picks up the discarded robe, shaking it out before throwing it around Kurt’s bare shoulders.  
  
“What--what’s going to happen?” Kurt asks quietly, apparently softened by the courtesy Blaine showed by covering him before proceeding to unlock his shackles. He’s tense, but Blaine’s sure he’s not stupid enough to run.  
  
“You’re going to spend the night with our Master,” Blaine explains gently, dropping the chains to the ground carelessly, knowing they’ll be picked up by the house slaves in their nightly rounds. Instead, he puts his efforts into pulling the robe tight around Kurt, letting him have as much modesty as possible before the dignity of it is removed completely. He fidgets with the collar of it, straightening it unnecessarily--it won’t be seen by anyone but them, but Kurt doesn’t seem to mind, and it might help him to realize that Blaine is really there to take care of him.  
  
“The whole night?” Kurt’s voice shakes, and his eyes swim, and Blaine’s heart breaks.  
  
“Maybe,” he replies, not wanting to lie to the boy, “but I doubt it. Generally speaking, once he’s finished with you, he’ll fall asleep, and that’s when you’re free to return to the slave boys’ quarters.”  
  
“But I--I don’t know what--I just--”  
  
Kurt looks like he’s on the verge of tears. Blaine places his hands on Kurt’s shoulders and shushes him.  
  
“It’ll be okay,” Blaine says. “I’ll tell you everything I can on the way to the bedroom, okay? But we’ve gotta get going, Sebastian will be angry if he has to wait.”  
  
Kurt nods and Blaine turns to lead him out of the room, turning right to lead them across the house to Sebastian’s room.  
  
“What am I going to have to do tonight?” Kurt questions. Blaine notices that he looks faintly sick, but he doesn’t have an answer that will take that away.  
  
“You just do what he says,” Blaine answers. But as soon as Kurt shoots him an exasperated glare, he amends, “I can’t tell you exactly what he will want to do. Chances are, he’ll want to fuck you. That’s what usually happens with the slave boys he sends for at night--I’m told at dinner who he wants to see, and I make sure they’re prepped and ready for him, and they go and come back and go to bed. While they’re with him, it’s a simple matter of laying down how he tells you to lay down, and letting him do what he wants to do. That’s all that will be expected of you at first, though in time you’ll learn what he likes and you can find your own pleasure in it, if you’re willing and a little lucky. Now come on,” he adds, “it’s just up ahead.”  
  
The hall turns left at the end, but the door is on their right; it is familiar to Blaine, but it’s a huge door and Blaine can tell Kurt is intimidated.  
  
“I’m scared,” Kurt whispers, turning his eyes to Blaine, pleading. They’re a beautiful mix of colors, big and perfectly shaped, and Blaine feels for him.  
  
“Just go in and wait,” Blaine instructs. “Just stand by the bed and wait, and do as you’re told. When you’re done, our rooms are down that hallway--”  
  
“Can you--” Kurt shifts where he stands, taking a deep breath. “Can you wait for me? I don’t--”  
  
“Of course,” Blaine says immediately, grabbing Kurt’s hand and squeezing it. “It’s my job to help you, okay? If you need me, I’m here. When Sebastian comes in, I won’t be able to do anything, but when you’re done I’ll be waiting right here and I’ll take care of you. All right?”  
  
Kurt nods and faces the door again. Blaine reaches for the doorknob, quirking an eyebrow at Kurt, who draws himself up and nods again, firm.  
  
“You’ll be fine,” Blaine encourages, opening the door. Kurt’s shoulders draw up and his face is a mask of terror and tension, but he walks through anyway.  
  
Blaine feels an ache building in his chest watching Kurt face this with so much courage. He’s seen many boys enter this room for the first time, and there’s always pity and sympathy for the poor boy who has to face it, but he’s never admired them, never seen them face it so bravely. And that’s the only reason he agreed to stay outside, even though he knows he’ll only be adding to the nightmares he already has.  
  
He catches a flash of Kurt’s eyes as he closes the door. Begging, scared, alone. Blaine hates everything about this life in that moment, despite any positives there may be. He hates it. But he can’t do anything about it. He can only make it just a little bit better where he can, so he sits down outside the door, arms wrapped around drawn-up knees, and he waits.  
  
He waits through hearing the pipes shut off in the bathroom. He waits through Sebastian’s voice talking to Kurt behind the door, the words completely garbled by the thick wood. And he waits through a disconcerting moment of silence.  
  
But when he hears Kurt start to beg, his voice thickened with tears, Blaine shuts his eyes and, like he often does when his life seems too much to manage, imagines himself escaping. Just taking what he can, and walking right out the door, down the road, going--anywhere.  
  
By the time he hears Kurt cry out, his fantasy has morphed to include the beautiful young boy, standing by his side, holding his hand as they run away and never look back.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has an additional trigger warning for those with emetophobia.

“Fuck!”   
  
Blaine’s head snaps up from where it had been resting on his knees. He’d been expecting to hear Sebastian’s cries at some point, but not this soon, and certainly not sounding like that.   
  
Angry.   
  
He bolts to his feet and presses against the door, leaning his ear to the wood, straining to hear.   
  
“--little bitch--”   
  
He hears the familiar smack of a hand hitting a cheek, and he acts impulsively.   
  
He knocks on the door.   
  
He hears a faint growl before Sebastian calls out, “What is it?”   
  
“Is everything all right, Master?”   
  
There’s a shuffle of movement and then the door opens, revealing Sebastian before him, hunched over and wiping an arm with a damp towel.   
  
“And what the hell are you doing?” Sebastian snaps, tossing the towel aside before Blaine can inspect it. “You of all people know I’m not to be disturbed--”   
  
“I’m sorry, Master,” Blaine says immediately, bowing his head low and speaking as gently as possible, quickly inventing a story that Sebastian would believe. “I thought I forgot something in the dining room, so I returned after guiding Kurt here and and I heard you shout as I was passing. I felt it was my duty to make sure all was well before retiring myself.”   
  
Sebastian huffs and turns away, the invitation to come in implicit in the fact that he didn’t slam the door in Blaine’s face. Blaine follows in and shuts the door behind him, waiting for instruction while he quickly takes in the scene.   
  
Kurt lies half-propped on the ground, looking as though he’d rolled off the bed. He’s holding his cheek in one hand and wiping his mouth with the other, his eyes clenched shut against tears and possibly the reality of the situation before him. There’s what looks to be vomit on the edge of the bed and smeared on Kurt’s bare side.   
  
“I’m going to clean up,” Sebastian says, stalking past Blaine with a look of disgust on his face. “Clean him up, get him ready--I’ll be out shortly and I’ll expect him prepared for me by then.”   
  
With that, he slams the bathroom door behind him, and Blaine is left alone with Kurt.   
  
“What happened?” Blaine asks gently, stepping forward and kneeling next to Kurt. He pulls Kurt’s hand away from his cheek and inspects it--it’s a sharp red, and there’s a swelling that Blaine is sure means that a bruise will form. Sebastian won’t be pleased at the marring of one of his possessions, even if he did it himself. Kurt will take the blame for it, and while Sebastian would avoid marking Kurt again and bringing down his value, there are ways to hurt someone that don’t show.   
  
“He--he was...touching me,” Kurt struggles out, his body trembling. “And--and I asked him to stop, but he wouldn’t and I--I was feeling sick, but he wouldn’t stop and--”   
  
Kurt shudders, and Blaine nods and hushes him.   
  
“You were sick on him, and he hit you?” Blaine finishes. Kurt nods. “Okay. Why were you sick?”   
  
“He was touching me!” Kurt bursts out. “He puts his fingers on my--my--”   
  
He looks ill again, and Blaine blinks for a moment, reorienting himself.   
  
“Kurt, do you...how much do you know about sex?”   
  
Kurt grimaces and shakes his head.   
  
“I don’t,” he spits. “I just...I like romance. Broadway musicals, where the touch of the fingertips is as sexy as it gets, and...and that was not the kind of fingertip touching I was thinking of when I imagined my first time.”   
  
Kurt’s eyes swim with tears. Blaine looks down at him sadly, hating what he has to do.   
  
“Kurt, Sebastian wants me to get you ready for him,” he explains. “That means a whole lot more than fingertips. He’s going to want to...penetrate you, with his--”   
  
“I do know what sex is,” Kurt interrupts, looking mortified. “I just...just don’t want to do it. I don’t want to think about it. It can’t...I just--”   
  
“Shh,” Blaine soothes, running his hands over Kurt’s arms. “Let’s get you cleaned up, and we’ll talk about it, okay? I have to go into the bathroom--can you pull anything off the bed that got soiled?”   
  
Kurt nods shakily and stands with Blaine, looking down at himself, nauseated. Blaine smiles at him and leaves him there, slipping into the bathroom as quietly as possible while Sebastian continues to shower, wetting a washcloth and pouring a little cup of mouthwash for Kurt. The shower turns off just as he’s slipping out, so he hurries over to Kurt, who has piled the dirty bedsheets by the door.   
  
“Sebastian will be out soon,” Blaine says, handing over the mouthwash and immediately starting to clean up Kurt’s side with the washcloth. “We have to hurry. Have you ever...fingered yourself?”   
  
Kurt shakes his head, his lips tightening, and Blaine can tell this isn’t going to go well. Sebastian’s going to force him, and he can just imagine all the light in Kurt’s eyes fading away into nothingness.   
  
He just looks so terrified. He looks broken and scared and so, so sweet and beautiful. Blaine can’t stand seeing this poor, innocent boy thrown down and...and raped. He can’t see the hope and the innocence and the joy completely abandon Kurt. He can’t allow it.   
  
But Sebastian will be out soon.   
  
“Okay,” Blaine says, coming up with a plan. “I need you to do exactly as I say, all right? Can you do that for me?”   
  
“Will I have to--”   
  
“You won’t have to sleep with Sebastian tonight, Kurt,” Blaine says urgently, “as long as you do what I say. Can you do that?”   
  
Kurt nods. Blaine grabs him by the shoulders and leads him away from the door and over to the end of the bed. He pushes Kurt down till he’s kneeling, and gently bends his head so that it’s bowed against his chest.   
  
“I need you to stay here, and stay silent. If Sebastian addresses you, do not react--I’ll take care of it for you. Okay? Can you do that, Kurt? Can you stay here quietly?”   
  
Kurt nods, looking between Blaine and the bathroom door.    
  
“What are you going to do?”   
  
“I’m...I’m going to get you out of this, for now,” Blaine says. “For as long as I can.”   
  
He stands up and faces the bathroom door just as it opens, his head bowed obsequiously.   
  
“What’s going on? Why isn’t he prepared?”   
  
“Master, I would like to request permission to speak freely for a moment.”   
  
Sebastian narrows his eyes for a moment, but he finally nods, smiling and raising his eyebrows.   
  
“Very well,” he says. “This should be good. What do you have to say, Blaine?”   
  
“Master, this boy is tremendously valuable,” Blaine begins, speaking slowly and picking out his words carefully. “I believe that in time, and with training, he could be one of your greatest assets. However, as he is, he’s useless to you--he’s terribly innocent, and while I know the appeal of that, I worry that any reckless use of it might lower his value and the pleasure my Master takes in him.”   
  
Sebastian studies Blaine carefully for a long moment.   
  
“And what would you suggest we do, then?”   
  
Blaine inhales deeply. They aren’t free yet, but Sebastian is listening.   
  
“I can train him, Master,” Blaine says. “Much like a slave would be trained on a farm. He’ll remain a virgin, but I can educate him, teach him the basics so that he can better serve you in the future, without the regrettable reaction that he had this time.”   
  
“And why should I care how he reacts?” Sebastian asks. Blaine lets out his breath--Sebastian wants to keep talking. They have a bigger chance with every question asked.   
  
“As I said before, Master, he could be enormously valuable. Should he be forced, however, I’m afraid he won’t perform as well for you, and might become timid and unusable. If you allow me to train him, he can retain the innocence that attracts you while still learning what you like and how to please you.”   
  
“And should I accept this, what would I do tonight, Blaine?” Sebastian walks forward and, with a single finger, tips Blaine’s chin up. “The other boys will already be in bed, I believe.”   
  
“Yes, Master,” Blaine responds. “I’m sure that one of them would be most willing--”   
  
“No, let them have their beauty sleep,” Sebastian cuts in. He smiles at Blaine sweetly and leans in, kissing him. Blaine kisses back with all his skill, drawing a quiet moan out of his Master’s mouth.   
  
“So pretty,” Sebastian says, pulling back. “And smart, as well. I knew there was a reason I kept you after you reached your peak age, Blaine. All right. I’ll allow you to train the boy. You’ll be provided with funds for any equipment you might need, and you’ll make regular reports on his progress. In the meantime--”   
  
He strokes Blaine’s cheek and leans in to lay a light kiss on his jaw, pushing him sideways until he’s standing at the end of the bed, his knees bumping the mattress.   
  
“--you will take his place.”   
  
Blaine remains still, sensing more from his Master. Sebastian walks past him and over to Kurt, who he pulls up by his elbow, guiding him over to the door and pushing him back into a kneeling position, facing the bed.   
  
“Every time I feel the urge to call for him, you will take his place until he is ready,” Sebastian says, stepping behind Blaine and pressing against him. His cock rests hard against the small of Blaine’s back, and a hand come up and around his chest, grabbing his chin and turning it to look at Kurt. “And my guess is that training him won’t be a quick, painless affair. I mean...you only have a few hours a day to spare, between continuing your duties as my personal slave and the head of my harem. You’ll have to resume the duties of a full-time bed slave and train him on top of that. Is keeping the value of my property that important to you?”   
  
Blaine’s stomach sinks at the implications--he doesn’t miss being Sebastian’s regular plaything, and he’ll have to sacrifice much of what makes his day pleasant in order to find the time to teach Kurt.   
  
But Sebastian had turned his head to Kurt. And he couldn’t help but see Kurt kneeling at the door, small and young and unspoilt.   
  
“Yes, Master. My only wish is to please you.”   
  
Sebastian hums and releases his chin.   
  
“Mr. Hummel,” he calls wryly, and Kurt looks up, eyes wide. “Watch closely. Blaine here is taking your place, so I suggest you study well, because you will be expected to resume your duties as soon as Blaine deems you ready.”   
  
Blaine feels a hand stroke his ass briefly before Sebastian’s voice says, “Show him how it’s done, killer. Strip.”   
  
Blaine removes his clothes methodically, folding them carefully before he sets them aside, careful of the expensive clothing his Master provides. When he is naked, he stands waiting and ready to obey Sebastian’s every command, making it easy on himself, and hopefully showing Kurt that it doesn’t have to be scary. Hell, if he can manage to enjoy himself, he could even show Kurt that it can be pleasurable for the slave as well. Hopefully Sebastian doesn’t do anything that prevents it.   
  
“Good boy,” Sebastian murmurs with a hint of affection. If there’s anybody in the world Sebastian is capable of feeling anything for, it would be Blaine--someone he had grown up with and spent more time with than anyone else. Blaine knows him best, and has always been loyal and obedient. “Bend over for me.”   
  
Blaine spreads his legs to a comfortable width and bends forward, pressing his front onto the bed, folding his arms and resting the side of his head on them, his face toward Kurt.   
  
A rush of arousal flows through Blaine when he sees how Kurt is watching him, eyes clouded and dark as they nervously rove over Blaine’s body.   
  
“That’s right,” Sebastian says from behind him, and Blaine feels a trickle of cool lubricant drip onto his ass, sliding down his crack and to his balls. Sebastian rubs through it with long fingers, deftly stroking his entrance before slipping one of them inside.   
  
It doesn’t take long for Sebastian to prep him. He relaxes and bears down on the intrusion, pushing back and feigning eagerness until his body starts responding, at which point it becomes a bit more real. After all, it’s been a long time since he was touched in this way, having only pleasured Sebastian with his mouth the past few times he’s been called in. And Sebastian, while a selfish lover, does know what he’s doing and takes delight in his slaves corroborating his skill with their enthusiasm, though they don’t always get to finish.   
  
“So pretty, fucking yourself like that,” Sebastian says, pulling his fingers out. “But I think you’ll like this better.”   
  
Blaine feels the blunt pressure of Sebastian’s cock pressing against him, and he pushes back, opening for Sebastian and allowing him to slide in without pause.   
  
“Ooooh, yes.” Sebastian pets Blaine’s back before gripping both of Blaine’s hips, adjusting his stance for a moment before pulling back. “Still so tight, sweetheart. So good for me. You gonna take my cock, baby?”   
  
Blaine nods, moaning and rocking his hips back for Sebastian’s benefit, putting on the show he knows is expected of him, the show that could make a difference in how Kurt could come to take his enslavement.   
  
“That’s right,” Sebastian says, slamming back in. Blaine gasps and relaxes again after the unexpected jolt, making his body go as limp as possible, letting Sebastian use him as hard as he likes.   
  
Kurt’s eyes remain on him, drawing lines from Blaine’s face to where Sebastian is fucking in and out of him. He looks torn, confused, but when Blaine lets out a whimper, he blushes deeply, and Blaine wonders if he’s ever even watched porn. This might be the first time he’s ever even seen sex in action.   
  
Sebastian doesn’t go easy on him. The sounds of slapping skin fill the room, and Blaine can feel the ripple in his muscles that rise up his body with every thrust, his ass bouncing with the impact. But he grips the bed and breathes deep, subtly angling himself until Sebastian’s cock rubs against his prostate. It sends a spark through him, and he arches his back, moaning loud. Sebastian grunts in response, his movements harder pushing Blaine hard into the bed, his cock rubbing on the silky fabric of the bare mattress. Blaine pants and spreads wider, taking it, heat building in him as he watches Kurt watch him.   
  
He’s been fucked in front of others before, but they’ve never looked at him like Kurt is looking at him now, like he wants to be bashful, but he’s too curious to tear away. It’s...heady, feeling like he’s the first person Kurt has ever responded to.   
  
And that’s what’s happening. Blaine looks down at Kurt’s lap briefly, where his arms are awkwardly hiding his nakedness. Unless he’s very much mistaken, Kurt is hard.   
  
“Master, I’m going to come,” Blaine chokes out, fingers scrabbling, toes digging into the soft carpet as his legs flex, pushing himself back onto Sebastian’s cock, chasing his release.   
  
“Yes,” Sebastian growls, reaching forward and grabbing Blaine’s shoulders, lifting his torso and jerking into him hard. “Come on my cock, baby.”   
  
Blaine lets Sebastian think that it’s his words that send him over the edge, crying out and spilling all over his stomach and the mattress below him. But it was really caused by the tiny whine that fell out of Kurt’s mouth as his body bowed and strained toward orgasm.   
  
Blaine just hopes Sebastian didn’t hear it. There’s no telling how he’d react if he decided it meant Kurt wasn’t nearly as scared of sex as it had seemed before.   
  
They’re lucky, it seems. Sebastian doesn’t react at all--he just leans forward and sinks his teeth into Blaine’s shoulder as his hips stutter in their rhythm. Blaine recognizes the heat and the pulsing of Sebastian’s cock inside him, and squeezes down gently, feeling the vibrations of Sebastian’s dying moans in his shoulder.   
  
After a long moment, filled with deep draws of breath, Sebastian pulls out, leaving Blaine empty and aching. He pats Blaine’s ass with a chuckle before pulling Blaine up, tilting Blaine’s head toward him to capture his mouth in a messy kiss.   
  
“You’ve still got it, babe,” he says, and Blaine smiles at Sebastian, knowing what high praise it is. Sebastian smirks back and bites his shoulder again, making Blaine jump. “I’m going to wipe up. Go find a house slave to clean up here. You’re both dismissed for the night. Blaine, I’ll expect you in the morning. Just you.”   
  
Blaine bows his head in acquiescence, silently dreading the fact that he’ll have to be up earlier than usual to fulfill two sets of duties. The moment Sebastian’s gone, Blaine grabs his clothes and pulls them on, wincing a little at the sting, but hurrying so that he can wash up and get some sleep.   
  
“Come on,” Blaine says, looking around for a moment before spotting Kurt’s discarded robe on the other side of the bed. He grabs it and holds it out for Kurt, who rises and quickly grabs it, throwing it around himself with a blush. Blaine very deliberately keeps his eyes averted. “Time for bed.”   
  
Once he’s sure Kurt is covered, Blaine raises his eyes and smiles at Kurt, as kindly and as warmly as possible. He knows how awkward it can be, being a slave when you aren’t raised to the lifestyle--he saw it with both Nick and Jeff, the blushing and the aversion and the shyness. But it all goes away eventually, and the boys are often naked in front of each other. Blaine’s usually the first one they become comfortable with; it’s hard to be shy around someone who helps finger you open.   
  
Kurt will learn. Blaine sort of cherishes the way Kurt’s cheeks flame up--it’s endearing. He’s hoping he’ll continue to see it for at least a little longer.   
  
He guides Kurt down the hall, only stopping briefly to instruct a house slave to tend to Sebastian’s bedroom. Thankfully, the boys’ quarters are only a short distance away, almost visible from Sebastian’s door, and they arrive quicker than Kurt apparently expects.   
  
“Oh,” he says, and Blaine can’t help but find the little exclamation adorable. “We’re here. Okay.”   
  
Blaine chuckles and opens the door, holding up a finger to his lips and whispering to Kurt, “Try to keep it down, now. The others will probably be asleep.”   
  
He leads Kurt into the main area, the common room.  It’s a big room--a larger, more luxurious version of what Blaine’s seen on TV to be a normal living room. There are seven doors around the walls: one to their left, which leads to the bathhouse; three ahead and two to their right for the boys’ bedrooms; and one in the corner between, leading to the biggest bedroom, Blaine’s own. There are couches and chairs, comfortable and cushy, surrounding a large television. There’s a piano, and upon looking at it, Kurt breaks into a smile--the first one Blaine’s seen.   
  
“Do you play?” Blaine asks quietly.   
  
Kurt shrugs. “A little. I like to sing, though. I used to sing in my high school’s Glee club, before I was...”   
  
His face shuts down, and Blaine quickly nods.   
  
“I sing, too,” he says, trying to get the conversation back on track. “Maybe you could duet with me sometime.”   
  
Kurt’s smile half-returns, and he nods shyly.   
  
“I’ll show you your room,” Blaine says, nodding to a door just to the left of his, on the wall ahead of them. “You’ll be right next to me, so if you need anything, just knock on that corner door. If I’m in, I leave it open just a crack, so don’t hesitate to come to me, okay?”   
  
Kurt nods. Blaine opens the door to Kurt’s bedroom, pleased to see that the house slaves had set everything up as he’d instructed.   
  
“This is all yours,” he whispers, and Kurt’s eyebrows raise. It’s not a bad sized room. It has a big, comfortable bed with beautifully soft sheets, a couple bedside tables, a dresser, and a desk in one corner. Blaine will have to find out if Kurt has any other pastimes besides singing, so he can pick something up to fill that desk for Kurt’s enjoyment.   
  
“Settle in,” Blaine says. “There should be some backup clothes in the dresser that will fit you--if they don’t, just let me know and we’ll figure something out. But don’t worry--once we’ve got your measurements I’m sure Sebastian will send out for some custom clothes for you. He does with all his boys.”   
  
“Custom clothes?” Kurt asks, his voice filled with wonder. Blaine smiles and nods.   
  
“Yep.” Blaine looks around. “Well, that’s it for tonight, I think. You’ve probably had a long day.”   
  
Kurt snorts. Blaine laughs.   
  
“In any case,” he continues, “I have to go wash up and get into bed myself. Remember--I’m right here if you need me, okay?”   
  
Blaine turns and leaves the room with a friendly pat to Kurt’s shoulder, perfectly ready to stop thinking and give himself up to warm water and then a warm bed. But before he’s halfway to the bathhouse, Kurt stops him.   
  
“Wait,” he says, catching Blaine up. “Um...would it be okay if I--I mean, I know you’re going in first, but I wondered if I could--”   
  
“Do you want to use the bathhouse?” Blaine asks. Kurt nods. Blaine smiles again and nods toward the door. “Come on, I’ve got something to show you.”   
  
He leads Kurt into the bathhouse, stopping to let Kurt take it all in. Predictably, he gasps--it really is a beautiful room, and a huge luxury for the boys. The bath isn’t exactly a tub--it’s more like a miniature swimming pool, an eight-by-eight foot rectangle sunk into the ground, filled with warm, fragrant water. There are a few shower stalls along one wall for quick cleanup either as a replacement for or before the bath, but for Blaine nothing compares to sinking into the warm water and letting the tension and aches of the day seep away from him.   
  
He goes to the shelves on one wall and grabs a couple of fluffy towels, laying them on a padded bench near the bath. He turns to Kurt and tilts his head.   
  
“Would you like to join me?” He motions to the bath. “There’s room enough for both of us. And I promise no funny business from me,” he adds, when Kurt shifts nervously. “Sometimes it’s just nice to relax with someone else. And you should probably get used to being naked around others--it’s going to happen, especially around me. If you want to strip and slip in, I’m going to shower off a little before I get in so I don’t have to sit in my own filth.”   
  
He turns and begins stripping unselfconsciously, ten years of being naked relatively often numbing him to the concept of modesty. He throws his clothes into the hamper next to the shelves and walks over to the showers, stepping into one and turning on the faucet, cool water coursing over him for just a moment before it warms.   
  
He hums as he scrubs the sweat and come off of him quickly and washes the product from his hair. He doesn’t often let others see him without it--his hair frizzes up if he doesn’t use something to keep the curls soft and glossy--but it will be a big step for Kurt to trust him. He has to do everything in his power to show Kurt that he should, and trusting Kurt first is a good way to do it.   
  
As soon as he’s done he steps right out of the shower stall and heads over to the bath. Kurt is already in, facing away from Blaine, his hair dripping as though he’d dunked himself under the water. He’s running his fingers through the water and drifting along, apparently just enjoying the feeling of being in a warm, sweet-smelling environment.   
  
Blaine smiles warmly as he steps down into the water himself, catching Kurt’s eye when the boy turns around at the sound of the water splashing around him. Kurt gives him a half-smile back, his eyes falling down Blaine’s body quickly before he blushes and turns back around.   
  
“Sorry,” he squeaks, and Blaine laughs a little.   
  
“Kurt, it’s okay to look at me,” he says. “I’m sure it won’t be the last time.”   
  
Kurt’s shoulders tense, but after a moment he turns around. Blaine wades across the chest-deep water, running his hands over the surface as he approaches the edge.   
  
“How are you feeling?” Blaine asks, reaching the wall of the bath and turning to face Kurt, leaning an arm along the cool tile. “Any better?”   
  
Kurt keeps his eyes trained on the water, so Blaine tilts his head, trying to push himself into Kurt’s line of vision. It works--Kurt looks up at him, but his face is cold, and Blaine draws back a little at its force.   
  
“Well, two nights ago I got home from visiting my comatose father in the hospital and was kidnapped by a slave dealer,” he says, his voice beginning low and tight, but growing higher and louder with every word. “I was tied up and thrown into the back of a van with a bunch of other boys who told me that I was finally going to New York, just like I’d always dreamed--except I wasn’t going to take Broadway by storm like I planned. I was going to be sold as a slave. And today I was stripped naked, inspected, and...and poked and prodded and probed. Then I was chained and brought before a man who informed me that I belonged to him, who then attempted to rape me. But thankfully I threw up on him, so instead I got to witness my new owner brutally...bang the only person who’s been nice to me this whole time. Someone who’s going to have to train me to have sex with someone I don’t want, someone who’s temporarily taking my place as a--a living sex doll. And who is now acting like it’s totally normal and a bath should make everything better.”   
  
Kurt’s mouth draws into a thin line as he finishes, his eyes filled with unshed tears as he stares Blaine down, his increasingly frantic diatribe cut off abruptly before he breaths in and demands angrily, “How should I be feeling?”   
  
Blaine reaches out to put a comforting hand on Kurt’s shoulder, but Kurt flinches back, sending harsh little ripples through the water. Blaine drops his hand and shakes his head in sympathy.   
  
“I know that this is hard,” he says. “I’m sorry that it happened to you. I’m sorry that your father is in the hospital. I’m sorry that you were kidnapped and treated badly. I’m sorry that you were touched when you didn’t want to be, and I’m sorry you had to watch Sebastian...have his way with me. I’m sure this has all been confusing and painful for you. I know that a bath isn’t going to fix anything, but there’s no reason you can’t enjoy this. Let yourself have the good in the situation? It’ll help in the long run.”   
  
“I don’t want to be in this situation at all,” Kurt protests, a little petulant. Blaine grimaces.   
  
“I know,” he says, “and if I could help you out of it, I would. But the fact of the matter is that you’re a slave now. Sebastian’s slave dealers bought you from somebody. Who was taking care of you while your father was in the hospital?”   
  
“Nobody,” Kurt replies. “My dad was the only family I had. I took care of myself.”   
  
Blaine frowns.   
  
“Were there any outstanding medical bills?”   
  
Kurt shakes his head. “Insurance was taking care of most of it. Anything left over was taken out of savings.”   
  
“How did you have money for food?”   
  
“My father owns a garage,” Kurt explains. “I went in a few times to take care of paperwork and finances. Thankfully the guys who work there kept coming in and kept the place open despite my father’s absence, so there was money coming in.”   
  
Blaine’s confusion must be all over his face, because Kurt gives him a questioning look. The truth of the matter is that it’s against the law for slave dealers to just...kidnap people. They’d be doing it all the time, otherwise. The government has clear rules against most kinds of kidnap; they’re only allowed to take someone if they are a minor sold by a parent or guardian, or if they are in enough debt without collateral or payment, in which case the money from the sale goes to the creditor. Otherwise, someone can sell themselves in hopes of money and a better life, or slaves are farmed. But people can’t just be taken--not legally.   
  
Something about Kurt’s story doesn’t make sense. But Blaine doesn’t know enough, and questioning Kurt right now might only give him false hope. If Kurt was taken illegally, it will take time to figure that out and open a case--in the meantime, he’ll still be expected to be a slave. His body and his life are still the property of Sebastian until proven otherwise. The best thing will be to put this aside for now and make preparing Kurt for his role the priority.   
  
“Well, it doesn’t matter now,” Blaine says instead. “What matters is that I can only protect you for so long. Sebastian is willing to wait for now, but it won’t last forever. Eventually, he will expect you to serve him.”   
  
“And he...he’ll do to me what he did to you tonight.”   
  
Blaine nods.   
  
“Something like that, yes,” Blaine admits. “But I promise it’s not as bad as it probably looked. Did you see that I was able to enjoy it?”   
  
“I don’t think I could do that,” Kurt says, looking disgusted. “It...I don’t want that. I want to give myself to someone I love, not...not that.”   
  
Blaine nods.   
  
“I understand that feeling,” he says. “It was scary for me, too, at first.”   
  
“Were you kidnapped, too?”   
  
“No,” Blaine says. “I was farmed. But that didn’t stop me from wanting romance. I had it, too, once.”   
  
“When?”   
  
“Oh, several years ago, now.”   
  
“While you were here?”   
  
“While I was here.” Blaine shrugs. “It’s possible. You just have a really limited selection.”   
  
He chooses not to mention how the romance ended. Not now.   
  
“What about Sebastian?” Kurt asks. “Did your...your boyfriend...how did you handle that?”   
  
Blaine considers for a moment.   
  
“Well, we were both slaves,” he says. “We both had to serve our Master. It’s just a job, in the end. I mean, we had to let Sebastian use our bodies for pleasure, and yeah, we took pleasure in it, too, when we could--it makes it a lot easier to bear. But when you’re a slave, it’s not your body that’s important. We cared about each other, and the rest didn’t matter.”   
  
“And is he...is he still here?” Kurt asks shyly, hesitantly, and Blaine’s not sure if there’s more to the question than curiosity. He lets it pass and shakes his head.   
  
“No, he was...he was sold a long time ago,” he replies. “But if you want proof that it’s possible, you should talk to Nick and Jeff sometime. They’re both slaves here, and they’ve been together since Jeff came a couple of months ago. And they were both sold in a manner similar to your own, so I’m sure they’ll be happy to talk to you and help you adjust better than I can. After all, I was prepared for this my whole life.”   
  
“And...now you’ll be preparing me,” Kurt says, his voice hopeless. Blaine reaches out again, but this time Kurt lets Blaine connect with him, a hand on a shoulder as Blaine moves closer in the water.   
  
“I’m afraid so,” Blaine says. “I won’t lie to you and tell you it will be easy. I’m sure it’ll be embarrassing for both of us at times, and it might be scary. But I promise that this life isn’t that bad once you get used to it. And you will--I’ll do my best to make it as easy as possible for you.”   
  
Kurt bites his lip and nods resignedly, looking on the edge of tears again. Blaine opens his arms and looks at Kurt questioningly, half-smiling and raising his eyebrows. Kurt laughs like he can’t help it and gives an affected sigh before moving into Blaine, allowing himself to be held and burying his face in Blaine’s shoulder.   
  
“Thank you for...for being so nice to me,” Kurt mumbles. Blaine smiles and gives Kurt’s head a quick kiss.   
  
“Of course,” he replies, not really knowing what else to say. “Now come on. I don’t know about you, but I’m pruning.”   
  
Kurt laughs and pulls back, wiping his eyes quickly. Blaine nods to the side of the bath and steps out, his skin prickling against the cool air as he emerges from the water, the warmth trickling away quickly. He grabs one of the towels and wraps it around his waist before turning and handing Kurt another. Kurt is standing on the edge of the tiles, nervously hunched over and covering himself with his hands, so Blaine makes sure to exaggerate tilting his head up, making Kurt laugh again as he grabs the towel and covers himself a little more effectively.   
  
“All right,” Blaine says. “Let’s go. You’ve got a warm bed waiting for you, and all the time you want to sleep in tomorrow.”   
  
“I don’t...do I have a...a schedule?” Kurt asks, whispering as they enter the common room again.   
  
“Not exactly,” Blaine replies. “Not yet, anyway. For the most part, the boys are free until they’re summoned. I get the orders at the beginning of the day, and I let the boys know who Sebastian wants, where he wants them, and what time they’re expected to be there. But you don’t have to worry about that now--I’ll explain later. Now,” he says firmly, stopping in front of Kurt’s door, “bedtime. I’m sure you’re tired.”   
  
Kurt gives Blaine that half-smile again, and nods, saying, “I am pretty tired.”   
  
“Then get some sleep,” Blaine says. “I’ll be back later in the morning tomorrow, and I’ll see you then, okay?”   
  
Kurt nods again. Blaine grins at him.   
  
“Have a good night, Kurt.”   
  
“You too.”   
  
Kurt goes into his room quietly, and Blaine waits until he hears the door latch before slipping into his own room, drying off quickly before he pulls on a soft pair of pajama pants--they’re not really necessary, for modesty or warmth or anything else, but they feel good and make him feel...a little more like what he imagines normal is like.   
  
He slips into bed after setting his alarm for half an hour earlier than he usually wakes up, and shuts off the lamp on his bedside table, drowning himself in darkness. He settles back on the pillow, shuffling until he finds a familiar, comfortable position. He closes his eyes, and tries to drift off despite the press of a million thoughts trying to zoom around his head like a swarm of flies half-caught on flypaper. The buzz might not be mobile, but it’s still there, and it’s distracting.   
  
He takes a deep breath, hoping to try some relaxation techniques, but his body aches; a faint sting shooting up his spine when he puts weight on his back, a reminder of Sebastian’s use of him. He goes over the night in his mind, any hopes of sleep slipping away from him as the bitter tang of self-reproach settles in him. He knows that serving Sebastian is his duty, and that finding ways to enjoy it makes life so much easier. Everyone does it, even Hunter, and he’d introduced himself as “not even remotely bi-curious.” But Blaine always hates himself for it afterward, for giving in; it’s been this way since--   
  
A sound cuts through the silence, and his eyes instantly fly open, his ears trying to train on the sound.   
  
It’s coming from Kurt’s room. The walls aren’t thin, and generally speaking they have a measure of privacy within their own space, but Blaine’s bed is right against the wall he and Kurt share, and, as he realizes by pressing his ear against the wall, Kurt isn’t particularly quiet.   
  
He’s crying, his sobs loud and heartbreaking.   
  
Blaine slips out of bed. He’s sure Nick and Jeff are in Nick’s room at the end of the line, leaving Jeff’s room--the other one that borders Kurt’s--empty. So he’s sure he’s the only one who can hear Kurt, and he just can’t lie in bed listening to him suffer alone like that.   
  
He knocks on Kurt’s door lightly, but he’s sure Kurt can’t hear it beneath his own voice, so Blaine opens the door and peeks his head in.   
  
“Kurt?”   
  
Kurt is curled up in his bed, dressed in a tight t-shirt and briefs, his arms clutched around his stomach, his face buried in his pillow. At the sound of Blaine’s voice, he looks up, but another paroxysm of grief overtakes him and he breaks into heavier sobs, his face clenching against the tears that are slipping freely from his eyes.   
  
“Oh, Kurt,” Blaine says. He shuts the door behind him and walks across the room to sit on the bed next to Kurt, laying a hand on his shoulder.   
  
Kurt closes in on himself, his voice hoarse and broken as he wails quietly. He’s not a pretty crier--his face is red and scrunched up and nose is clearly runny--but Blaine doesn’t care in the least. He brushes Kurt’s hair from his forehead before shifting around and laying behind Kurt, moving to draw him into his arms.   
  
Kurt turns around and immediately buries himself in Blaine’s shoulder, sobbing freely and clinging to Blaine like he’s a buoy in choppy waters. But soon enough Kurt’s sobs quiet, and his body stills, his breath evening out. And finally, his body relaxes entirely, folded in close to Blaine.   
  
By that time, Blaine’s own eyes are heavy, his limbs well used to holding a warm body, and it’s...nice. Comforting. Soon he’s asleep, all thoughts of Sebastian left back in his own room.


	3. Chapter 3

He wakes flat on his back, warm weight pressing down on his chest and legs. He blinks a few times to orient himself before he realizes--he’s in Kurt’s bed, and that’s Kurt lying on top of him.  
  
He panics for a moment--what time is it? Did he miss waking Sebastian? Was he going to be punished and sold and--  
  
Kurt’s clock reads 5:36, just six minutes after he usually wakes up, but unfortunately thirty-six minutes after he’d planned to wake up. He groans and takes a deep breath--he’ll have to hurry.  
  
He slips out from under Kurt as carefully as possible, smiling when Kurt just lays on the bed, not stirring in the least. His face is completely relaxed, smooth and sweet, and he just looks so young.  
  
Blaine shakes himself away from his staring, the faint smile that had formed on his face falling as he realized he’d wasted even more time just looking at Kurt. He turns and bolts into his bedroom, slapping off the quietly-wailing alarm before stripping his pajama pants and instead pulling on a pair of briefs for the minimal modesty he can maintain while serving Sebastian. Then he runs into the bathroom, brushing his teeth and smoothing some product into his hair before slipping back out in the common room.  
  
“Whoa--”  
  
He nearly runs headlong into Nick, who looks startled. He steadies them with hands on Blaine’s shoulders, smiling and chuckling.  
  
“Late this morning?” he asks. “Who’s coming with you tod--”  
  
“Nobody,” Blaine spits out. “I’ll explain later, but I’m the only one going, and I have to--”  
  
“Wait, wait,” Nick says. “Hold on. You’re waking up Sebastian?”  
  
“Yes, and I have to go if I’m to do that and get his bath ready--”  
  
“Do you need me to help?” Nick offers. “I can ready the bath if you’re going to be doing the honors.”  
  
Blaine blinks before smiling at Nick gratefully.  
  
“Yeah, actually,” he replies. “That’d be great. Can you--can we go? Now?”  
  
“Yeah,” Nick says. “I mean, all I’ve gotta do is run the water, right?”  
  
Blaine leads him out of the room at a fast pace, saying, “Yes. Just get it to a good temperature, not too hot but it should steam, and put in just a few drops of the bath oil while it’s filling and shut the water off when it’s about three-quarters full, and then that should be it--”  
  
“Okay, calm down,” Nick says. “I can fill a bath, not a big deal. Where’s the oil?”  
  
“Right in the rack, you’ll see it,” Blaine says. As they reach Sebastian’s doors, he adds, “I can’t thank you enough, if I’d woken up sooner I would’ve had it, but--”  
  
“No big deal.” Nick waves him off. “But I expect an explanation about why you weren’t in your own room last night and why you woke up late.”  
  
His tone is clearly suggestive, and Blaine shakes his head.  
  
“It’s not like that,” he says, “but I will explain. Just...be extra helpful to the new boy, okay? His name’s Kurt and he’s...he’s not taking this well.”  
  
Nick nods.   
  
“Of course.”  
  
Blaine gives him a half-smile and nods toward the door.  
  
“Let’s go.”  
  
As soon as they’re in the room, Nick heads off to the bathroom with a reassuring pat on the back, and Blaine’s left alone with Sebastian sprawled out on the bed, asleep, the sheets tented over his clear morning erection.  
  
Blaine sighs and heads to the bed, slipping under the sheets and crawling up until he’s level with Sebastian’s hips. He immediately gets to work, licking and sucking Sebastian’s cock, caressing his thighs and stomach and balls with his hands and occasionally his lips when he pulls away. Sebastian groans a little in his sleep, his hips twitching restlessly for a while before his body tenses up as he comes to full wakefulness.  
  
The sheet draws back over Blaine’s head, revealing Sebastian looking groggily down at him, and he knows his job. He peeks up at Sebastian through his lashes and then sinks down over his cock completely, swallowing around it as deeply as he can.  
  
Sebastian’s hand threads through his hair, guiding him into the rhythm he wants, and it’s not long before come shoots down his throat. He swallows, pulling off slowly and licking his lips when he’s done.  
  
“Mmm, I forget how good you are at that,” Sebastian says, his voice still gravelly with sleep. “Is my bath ready?”  
  
“Yes, Master,” Blaine says, slipping from the bed and bowing his head. “I’ll go make sure everything is in order and wait for you there.”  
  
At Sebastian’s nod he heads for the bathroom. Thankfully, Nick is gone, and he did the bath correctly. The water’s a good temperature--a shade cooler than he usually has it, but it works and it still smells nice. And Nick was even considerate enough to pull out a towel. Blaine grabs it and stands in his usual spot with it, and he’s ready and waiting as usual when Sebastian saunters in.  
  
“I’m impressed,” Sebastian says. He’s about to explain that he can’t take full credit, but Sebastian beats him to it. “Recruiting Nick to take over your usual duty. Clever of you. I was half-convinced you’d just try to do it all yourself. But I clearly underestimated you.”  
  
Blaine doesn’t want to admit that that is exactly what he had planned to do, so he keeps his mouth shut, simply bowing his head in thanks for the praise.   
  
Sebastian starts rattling off his orders for the day, and Blaine commits everything to memory with the ease of practice. It’s nothing out of the ordinary--he has paperwork to fill out for the slave dealers the night before, but everything else is the usual fare; he wants simple meals and Blaine has orders to send Jeff to Sebastian in his main hall just before lunch, fully prepped. Blaine nods along until Sebastian’s done.  
  
After a long moment of silence, Sebastian’s voice suddenly rings out.  
  
“How’s my new slave doing?”  
  
“He is...adjusting, Master,” Blaine replies carefully. “But I believe I’ll be able to train him effectively. He’s young, so I’m sure he’ll adapt quickly.”  
  
Sebastian nods. “Very well. After I’m dressed I have that appointment with my father--while I’m gone, use the computer in my office and my personal credit card and order whatever you’ll need to train him. Have it shipped as soon as possible. I want him trained quickly, and I’ll expect reports on his progress every day at supper.”  
  
“Of course, Master.”  
  
There’s a sudden tension in the air. Blaine looks over and finds Sebastian staring at him, a strange look on his face.  
  
“Do you love me, Blaine?”  
  
Blaine is very careful not to let the unexpected question throw him. He keeps his breathing normal and his face neutral as he processes it, despite the whirlwind it incites. After a moment--not too long, not too short--he smiles just a little bit.  
  
“Of course I do, Master.”  
  
Something in Sebastian relaxes, the curves of his eyes and mouth softening. Blaine’s answer was genuine enough to mollify him, it seems, and Blaine relaxes just a little bit.  
  
He didn’t used to be a good liar. He could never keep anything from his mother, and his indiscretion and impulsivity were what got him caught with Jeremiah. Up until that point--a mere sixteen years of age--he’d been honest and open. Until he’d needed it the most, he’d never been able to look Sebastian in the eye and lie to him. But one day he’d done it.  
  
And, oh, how things had changed.  
  
Sebastian suddenly stands from the bath and steps out. Blaine holds the towel out and begins to dry his master, thoroughly patting him down with the soft cotton until he’s sure that every drop is soaked up, running his hands lightly over Sebastian’s skin to make sure. Sebastian hums his delight at this, giving Blaine a surprisingly sincere smile, before striding out at a nod from Blaine, talking as he goes.  
  
“I think I’ll wear that linen shirt I bought last week, with those jeans I like--”  
  
Blaine follows, and gets to work.  
  
\--  
  
All morning he operates in a haze. He dishes out orders and gathers papers and runs around the house with his head feeling like it’s stuffed with cotton. By the time he finishes up and heads to Sebastian’s office to order Kurt’s equipment, it’s getting late, and he still has to go tell Jeff he’s wanted and make sure he gets prepped.  
  
He logs onto a specialty website with Sebastian’s information and browses--it caters to masters and farms that have slaves in need of training, so there are plenty of options for what Blaine needs. He scrolls through everything half-heartedly--he won’t really need much, but he selects a few things anyway, not even bothering to look at the price.  
  
He’s not particularly looking forward to what he’s going to have to do, especially today. It will be Kurt’s introduction, and he’s sure Kurt won’t take it very well after his reactions last night. There is nothing romantic about letting a man in power use his body like a toy. And Kurt wants romance.  
  
It would be easier if Kurt could have someone to love aside from Sebastian. But first, he doesn’t know if Sebastian will favor him enough to become jealous or not yet, and second, there’s just nobody for Kurt to fall in love with. Nick and Jeff are together already, and Jesse and Hunter aren’t going to be interested in the least, for various reasons, foremost of which is that they both prefer women to greater or lesser degrees. And while sometimes one of the house slaves or guards can catch the eye of a bed slave, Blaine’s sure there’s nobody suitable currently in the household, though that could change at any moment.  
  
That would leave Blaine. And Blaine couldn’t take advantage of young, sweet Kurt like that. He’s the only person Kurt has to trust, and on top of that he’s eight years older. He’s Kurt’s mentor. He can’t be anything more than that. He doesn’t even know if he can risk it, not after the last time he let himself open up like that.  
  
And there it is again. His memories of Jeremiah just seem to keep surfacing. Last night, with Chandler’s dismissal over his careless dalliance, and today, with Sebastian’s strange and sudden request for an affirmation of Blaine’s love, no matter how false it was...it just dredges up things that Blaine wishes he could keep buried.  
  
But he can still hear it in his head.  
  
“Do you love me, Blaine?”  
  
Jeremiah’s face, shifting in Blaine’s peripherals, because he refuses to look over and see the pain he’s about to cause.  
  
“Yes, Master.”  
  
“Do you love anyone else?”  
  
Deep breath. His first successful lie, followed closely by his second.  
  
“No, Master.”  
  
He brushes away the flashes as best he can. He had loved Jeremiah, in his way--they’d been young and foolish and had found comfort in one another--but it had only lasted a month, and Blaine could barely remember his face, now. He hadn’t even seen it, that last day--he couldn’t stomach seeing the betrayal he knew would be there.  
  
He glances at the time and starts--it’s getting far too late. He quickly finishes up his shopping, opting for the overnight delivery rather than bothering to send out one of the house slaves to pick it up from the local store when he doesn’t plan on using any of it till at least tomorrow in any case.  
  
He hurries through the house, finally bursting into the harem’s common room later than he thinks he’s ever returned.  
  
“Long morning?” Jeff asks, raising an eyebrow and giving him a smirk. Blaine sighs and nods.  
  
“Yeah,” he says. “Sebastian had some extra stuff for me to do.”  
  
“Oh, we heard,” Jesse pipes up. “Last night and this morning. Don’t tell me Sebastian’s making you his favorite again--not with the ever-lower drooping of your aging balls.”  
  
“I don’t know, I think his balls are still pretty perky,” Nick counters playfully. Jeff and Hunter snicker as Blaine waves them off.  
  
“Enough about my balls, please,” he says. “Jeff, Sebastian wants you in the main hall just before lunch.”  
  
“Okay. Anything special?” he asks.  
  
“He wants you fully prepped,” Blaine says, and Jeff rolls his eyes. “Nick, I trust you’ll make sure he’s all ready for me?”  
  
“Sure thing, boss,” Nick says with a sly grin, winking at Jeff.  
  
“Thank you,” Blaine says wryly. “I know it’s a burden for you. But anyway...”  
  
He looks over and notices Kurt sitting in a chair, one long, jean-clad leg crossed over the other. He looks much better than he did last night.  
  
“Did everyone meet our newest member?”  
  
“We did,” Hunter says. “We like him.”  
  
Blaine doesn’t bother to hide his surprise. Hunter doesn’t like anybody.  
  
“Oh, you should’ve seen it,” Jeff cuts in, snickering. “He put Jesse in his place--”  
  
“I’m sorry, I must have had electroshock therapy,” Jesse interrupts, “because I don’t seem to recall that.”  
  
“You must be blocking out the trauma,” Hunter deadpans. “I, for one, will forever cherish the look of utter dismay in your eyes as the newbie gave you sound smackdown.”  
  
“I’m sure by smackdown you mean a pathetic attempt to--”  
  
“Okay, okay,” Blaine calls out, stopping the ensuing argument in its tracks. “Obviously there was a...disagreement earlier. Anything I need to be concerned about?”  
  
“Not at all,” Kurt says, surprising Blaine again. He seems perfectly at ease, a clear counterpoint to the terrified, sobbing boy that Blaine had seen last night. This Kurt is cool, collected. “Jesse just expressed an opinion about me that I was happy to correct for him. End of story.”  
  
The way Jesse’s eyes narrow at Kurt make Blaine uneasy, but he shrugs and drops the matter.  
  
“All right, then that’s it,” he says. “Jeff, go get ready. Nick, help him. Everyone else...until dinner.”  
  
Blaine immediately ambles over to Kurt, looking him up and down, intrigued.  
  
“Dare I ask?” he says playfully. Kurt gives him a satisfied smirk.  
  
“Apparently, somebody was under the impression that I am limp-wristed and pasty-faced, and likely to have my back broken by Sebastian before the month is out. I informed him otherwise.”  
  
Blaine’s eyebrows rise. He is impressed.  
  
“Well, I’m glad you were able to stand up to him,” he says. “I did tell him to lay off you, but I should have warned you anyway--obviously he didn’t listen. Jesse just likes to get people riled up.”  
  
“Charming,” Kurt comments, and Blaine laughs.  
  
“How did you sleep?”  
  
Kurt looks bashful.  
  
“Surprisingly well,” he replies. “Despite the unfortunate way it happened, I was exhausted enough to sleep pretty soundly.”  
  
“And how are you doing otherwise?”  
  
Kurt’s mouth thins like he finds the question vaguely distasteful, and he looks up and off to the side like he’s studying something in the distance, his throat working like he’s swallowing.  
  
“Nick explained...how things go around here,” he says, after a long moment of silence. “He and Jeff have been...nicer than I could have hoped. And I didn’t want to wait till you got back to hear everything. It felt best just to...get it over with.”  
  
“And what do you think of it?” Blaine asks carefully.  
  
Kurt swallows a few more times and seems to consider. Blaine waits patiently, quietly studying the slopes of Kurt’s face, the pattern of his skin--and he’ll have to make sure his skin heals well, because he can see the traces of bruising beneath some lightly applied makeup on Kurt’s face.  
  
“Well, I’m not thrilled,” Kurt bursts out, startling Blaine a little. “But...it’s not like I have a choice, is it?”  
  
Blaine grimaces at the deadened look on Kurt’s face as he says it. If there is anything Blaine wants to accomplish in befriending and training Kurt, it’s making sure he never loses the spark that let him snap back at a man like Sebastian when he was at his most vulnerable. He wants to see that light in Kurt’s eyes for as long as he can.  
  
“Did Nick tell you about the custom wardrobe?” Blaine asks, wildly clutching at the one thing that he remembers had caused the least bit of enthusiasm. And sure enough, Kurt’s eyes light up--just a little bit, but just enough.  
  
“He forgot to mention that part,” Kurt says, a little hook on the end of the statement. Blaine grins.  
  
“Well, I’ll have to make sure Sebastian approves it, but if you have any ideas I’m more than willing to listen to your suggestions,” Blaine says. “We’re given a monthly budget for the five of us, but for the most part there’s plenty left over. We have...well, it’s not really a uniform. But we have guidelines. I can go over it with you and I’m pretty sure one of us can grab your measurements sometime. Maybe after lunch.”  
  
“When can we eat?” Kurt asks, and Blaine laughs.  
  
“Well, pretty much whenever we want,” he says. “We have access to the kitchens whenever we want for snacks. Meals are right after Sebastian’s, which you’ll get to know. Just work off what you eat--Sebastian has rules about physique. There’s a side yard and a gym with a pool beyond that. I can show you around if you want.”  
  
“Okay,” Kurt says. He doesn’t rise, though. He looks at Blaine plaintively. “Does it...does this get easier? I know you don’t know yourself, but you’ve been here a while--”  
  
“It does,” Blaine assures, patting Kurt’s knee. “I think I said it before, but...there are a lot of perks. And honestly, Sebastian isn’t too bad when you’re used to him and know how to keep him happy. And I mean...you’re clothed, and fed, and you can do pretty much anything you want--”  
  
“--except leave.”  
  
“--except leave,” Blaine finishes. “But it’s not a bad life.”  
  
“Who are you trying to convince?” Kurt snaps weakly, but his face drains the moment he says it. “I’m...just...forget I said that?”  
  
“It’s okay,” Blaine says. “I know this is hard. And I honestly can’t imagine how scared you are. But I promised I would do everything I could to make it easier for you, and I will.”  
  
Kurt smiles wanly and nods.  
  
“Thank you.”  
  
“Come on,” Blaine says, rising from his seat and nodding to the door. “I’ll show you around.”  
  
“And then?”  
  
Blaine sighs.  
  
“And then we’ll grab lunch,” he says. “And...we can talk, if you want. Or we can do...whatever you want. Sing, play the piano. The boys have some video games we can steal. There are books and movies and TV shows. Whatever you want, really. And if what you want isn’t here, I’ll do my best to get it for you.”  
  
“And then?”  
  
Blaine knows what Kurt wants. And honesty might be the best policy.  
  
“And then tomorrow your training equipment will come in,” he answers truthfully. “And I’ll have to tell you how to use it and how it will apply to serving our Master.”  
  
“So I have today left.”  
  
“Don’t--think of it like a death sentence, Kurt,” Blaine pleads. “It would break my heart to see you like that.”  
  
“You barely know me.”  
  
“Well, then, let’s fix that,” Blaine says. “I’ll show you around, and we’ll get to know each other. Okay?”  
  
The way Kurt looks at him is a little too intense, but Blaine just stares back earnestly, warmly. Finally, Kurt nods.  
  
“Okay.”  
  
\--  
  
And they do. Blaine shows Kurt everywhere he can go freely, pointing out their boundaries, and fills him in a little more on the scheduling of the household. They exchange stories--Blaine from his time in the house, Kurt from his old school and about his dad.  
  
“I hope he’s okay,” he says at one point. They’re in the kitchen, picking away at some bruschetta with mozzarella and some tomato salad Blaine’s pretty sure is still good.   
  
Blaine swallows his mouthful and debates saying anything to Kurt, who doesn’t seem to have any knowledge of how the slave trade works. Would it distress him? Maybe. But Blaine finally decides to just say it. Kurt’s tough--he’s proven that, and he deserves at least this little peace of mind, even if he’ll figure out at some point what it really means.  
  
“They would have found and notified you if anything happened,” Blaine explains. “You said you’re his only family left? And you’re his next of kin?”  
  
Kurt nods, eyeing Blaine suspiciously.  
  
“Well, they’re legally obligated to inform you as soon as possible in the event of a death,” Blaine continues. “And there are records of where you are. Whoever sold you has papers, and so does Sebastian.”  
  
“You mean there’s a record of who sold me?”  
  
Blaine takes a deep breath.  
  
“Yes,” he replies. He waits for the connection, wondering if this was wise.  
  
“I’m guessing that there’s no chance of me seeing who it was, is there?” Kurt asks, his voice dry. Blaine shakes his head. “Too bad. I would have loved to have given them a piece of my mind.”  
  
Blaine waits again, carefully nibbling at his lunch, but the thought seems to have ended there. Kurt doesn’t realize that he is probably here illegally. But he deserves to know, to act on it.  
  
Though...there’s nothing stopping Blaine from pursuing it without Kurt’s knowledge. After all, he has to find out what he can do at all first--and Kurt can’t afford to be distracted from his duties, not when he’s already having enough trouble with the concept of them.  
  
“Well, anything you’d like to do now?” Blaine asks, finishing off his food and brushing the crumbs from his hands.  
  
Kurt looks startled to be asked, his mouth rather full, one of his cheeks poking out and a few crumbs falling from his lips. Blaine grins at him, unable to resist how adorable he looks with his face stuffed with food. Kurt chews and swallows rather bashfully, wiping his mouth as delicately as possible with a mortified look on his face.  
  
“Well, I’d like to forget that ever happened,” he quips, and Blaine chuckles.  
  
“Forgotten.”  
  
“Thank you,” he says. “Well...could we...is there a way we could get my measurements? And...talk over clothes? I mean, I don’t know the rules, and I don’t have any pencils or paper, but we could just figure out a general outline and go over it more later--”  
  
“Jeff has pencils and paper,” Blaine interrupts. “He likes to draw. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind sharing until we can get you your own set.”  
  
“Wow,” Kurt says, half-smiling. “We’ll have to make you a list.”  
  
“Then I’ll assume you have a lot of demands?” Blaine asks, mockingly stern.  
  
Kurt raises an eyebrow and puts a hand on one cocked hip.  
  
“Oh, you don’t even know the half of it,” he  says, with all the attitude of a cocky sixteen-year-old. Blaine’s not even sure if it’s a joke or not. “Let’s go, this is gonna take a while.”  
  
By the way Kurt flounces out, he’s less and less sure.  
  
\--  
  
They talk all day. They end up going over Kurt’s designs, quickly sketched on quickly-borrowed paper, and after Blaine has a few sketches that he’s sure Sebastian will approve, they start designing more and more outrageous things. When Kurt finds out how Sebastian likes to dress them for parties, he even starts designing for that, apparently either thinking it’s a joke or finding comfort in the fact that he might have control over what he ends up wearing. And when he sees some of the truly risque things Kurt draws, he leans toward the former.  
  
He decides not to mention it until the time comes for Kurt to actually don one. It might be easier by then.  
  
Blaine heads to dinner with an entire folder in hand, full of Kurt’s designs and requests and notes that he took throughout the day on things Kurt might like. And while he’s a kind person and has always treated his fellow slaves as well as possible, it doesn’t occur to him that he’s going much further than ever before for Kurt until Sebastian eyes the folder with a cocked eyebrow.  
  
“What is that?” he asks, sprawling himself out on the couch and motioning to a waiting house slave to bring in his food.  
  
“It’s...it’s a file for your new slave, Master,” Blaine explains. “I thought you’d be interested in some things about him, and I compiled it here. There’s also a few requests for additions to our comfort, should you wish to provide them.”  
  
“Let me see,” Sebastian says, holding his hand out.  
  
He looks everything over as he eats. Blaine continues to nibble at the food as it enters, wishing he didn’t have to take part in this formality--the cooks were so well-paid and -treated that they are unfailingly loyal to Sebastian, and they test everything in the kitchens anyway. But it’s tradition to have a slave sample before the master.  
  
Still. It doesn't make pâté de foie gras taste any better to Blaine.  
  
Finally, when the meal’s over (and thankfully Blaine is allowed to sip Sebastian’s wine as well, to wash away the taste), Sebastian turns to Blaine, setting the folder down on the couch between them.  
  
“I don’t see a problem with getting any of this,” he says. “I’ll go over it in more detail tonight, and if I decide to approve everything, I’ll let you know in the morning and you can hand it over to Trent.”  
  
Blaine bows his head in thanks and smiles. He likes Trent; he is Sebastian’s clerk, the one who handles paperwork and requests and such.  
  
“Come here.”  
  
Blaine looks up and sees Sebastian looking at him expectantly. He slides along the floor until he kneels next to the far arm of the couch, where Sebastian is resting his head.  
  
“I saw the order statement for your training equipment. You plan on starting with the boy tomorrow?”  
  
Blaine can hear the hook. Sebastian will want to keep him if he isn’t working toward getting Kurt to him. He thinks quickly.  
  
“I was planning on starting tonight, Master,” Blaine says. “From what I’ve learned the boy is woefully uneducated, so I was hoping to discuss it with him tonight.”  
  
“Sex ed 101?”  
  
Blaine chuckles. “Something like that, yes, Master.”  
  
Sebastian smiles and strokes Blaine’s cheek. Blaine leans into it automatically.  
  
“I want to know how often the boy touches himself,” Sebastian says suddenly. “Could you find that out for me, Blaine?”  
  
Blaine blinks for a minute. That’s not going to be fun. But he nods anyway.  
  
“Yes, Master, I’m sure I could.”  
  
“Good.”  
  
He leans in, brushing his lips against Blaine’s tenderly. Blaine parts his lips in invitation, and Sebastian takes it, licking along their seam. But before he can really lean into the kiss, he pulls back.  
  
“Send me Hunter tonight,” he orders, sitting up abruptly. Blaine swallows and shakes his head a little, adjusting as quickly as he can to the change in manner. “And I’ll take Jesse in the morning. You’re dismissed.”  
  
And then he’s gone.  
  
\--  
  
When he gets back to the harem, he hears most of the boys’ voices drifting from the bathhouse. He heads in to find Nick, Jeff, and, surprisingly, Kurt lounging in the water, talking and laughing. Jesse is sitting at one of the mirrors along the far wall, applying some cream to his face.  
  
“Blaine!” Nick calls. “Join us!”  
  
Blaine grins.  
  
“Maybe in a bit,” he says. “Still have to get the lucky boy Sebastian chose ready for tonight.”  
  
“Who is it?”  
  
“Hunter,” he says. “Where is he?”  
  
“In his room,” Jesse drawls, not looking away from his own reflection. “Probably pining over that stray cat Sebastian still doesn’t know about.”  
  
Blaine grimaces. Sebastian hates cats, but Hunter’s been encouraging this one’s frequent visits to the boys’ yard.  
  
“Well, he’s got the chance to put Sebastian in a good enough mood to bring it up,” he says. “And then you get the chance to change his mind again, Jesse. He wants you in the morning.”  
  
“Spectacular,” Jesse says.  
  
“So go prep Hunter,” Nick suggests, “and then come back and join us. We just got in a few minutes ago.”  
  
Kurt smiles and nods at Blaine, and he’s struck with an idea.  
  
“Actually, I was hoping I could steal Kurt for this,” he says. He looks down at Kurt, who looks surprised. “It might help just to see what the proper procedure is. It’ll only take a few minutes anyway.”  
  
Kurt nods a little shakily and heads for the edge of the bath. When he reaches it, he pauses, and Blaine watches his face as he struggles for a moment before hauling himself out, naked and fully on display to the other boys.  
  
Blaine can barely control the dropping of his jaw, especially when Jeff wolf-whistles and Kurt’s only reaction is to blush a little bit as he grabs his towel and ties it around his waist before heading to the cubbies and donning a robe.  
  
“Ready,” he says, his voice fake-bright. Blaine just smiles encouragingly, knowing that was a big step for him.  
  
“Right this way.”  
  
He leads Kurt to Hunter’s room--the furthest along the right wall of the common room--and knocks on the door, slipping in at a call from Hunter.  
  
“I’m the meat tonight?” he asks casually. Blaine nods.  
  
“Afraid so. Here to prep. Do you mind if Kurt watches? Just to get him prepared for--”  
  
“Go ahead,” Hunter interrupts. “You might as well demonstrate on the best there is. Better he sees how it’s done properly rather than on someone like Jesse.”  
  
He’s a little too cooperative for his normal demeanor, but Blaine doesn’t question. He just goes to Hunter’s bedside table and pulls out his bottle of lube and a latex glove as Hunter takes off his clothes and bends over the bed, presenting himself.  
  
“I do this for all the boys to make it easier and quicker,” Blaine says. “And because it’s the most effective. Sebastian doesn’t like to waste time with prepping often, and it’s my job to make sure no one can get injured. Nick and Jeff do it for each other now that they’re a couple, but Jesse and Hunter can’t get out of it.”  
  
“And neither will you,” Hunter says with a smirk. Blaine frowns at him. That’s more like Hunter.  
  
“Eventually,” Blaine says, completely missing the curious look Hunter throws his way as he turns to Kurt. “But it’s simple. Four fingers, to make it as easy as possible. Plenty of lube. It doesn’t usually take more than a few minutes because we’re all used to it, but it can take a while when you first start. For now, though, just watch.”  
  
He slicks up his gloved fingers and gets to work, keeping a steadying hand on Hunter’s back as he pushes in the first. Hunter takes it easily, relaxing automatically. It’s old hat to Hunter--he’s been here for six years, since he was thirteen and Blaine was eighteen.  
  
“And you’re...okay with someone just...” Kurt pauses, gesticulating wildly and shaking his head. “Diving on in there?”  
  
Hunter raises an eyebrow at him, barely even flinching as Blaine slips in a second finger and works them around.  
  
“It’s my job,” Hunter says seriously. “And trust me, putting up with Blaine’s fingers up my ass a few times a week is infinitely more acceptable than being badly prepped and having to sit on an ice pack with a bunch of gauze between my cheeks.”  
  
“That happens?” Kurt asks, his face white at the implications.  
  
“Sure does,” Hunter confirms, smirking in a way that makes Blaine nervous. He switches to three fingers and wishes he could push sharply in warning, but he can’t risk any damage or discomfort. “I’ve seen more than one boy fight prep or try to do it himself. Sebastian can always tell when they’re too tight, and he makes a point of teaching them a lesson. I’ve seen Blaine here mopping up more than one mess.”  
  
Kurt looks over at Blaine, who just shrugs, pulling a face. It is true, after all.  
  
Kurt just nods, looking faintly ill. Blaine pushes in four fingers, and it’s the only time Hunter really reacts--he grunts, taking a deep, hissing breath. But that’s it--he takes it like a champ and soon Blaine’s thrusting his fingers in and out with relative ease.  
  
“I think you’re set,” Blaine says, slowly removing his fingers and discarding the glove. He glances at the time. “It’s late enough to head down if you want. You won’t need a plug that way.”  
  
“Thank god,” Hunter says. He pulls on his briefs and saunters out with a brief wave. “Close the door behind you when you go.”  
  
Blaine tosses the lube in Hunter’s drawer and checks the supply--he’s still good, so he just lets it go and leads Kurt out, shutting the door behind them. Here they pause, both a little awkward--Blaine because he knows he’s going to have to broach a difficult subject, and Kurt probably because he doesn’t know what to do now.  
  
Blaine decides to take the initiative.  
  
“Why don’t we go back to the boys?” he suggests. “We’ll hang out with them for a while before bed.”  
  
Kurt nods, so they head back to the bathhouse.  
  
Soon enough, both of them are sitting in the warm water with Nick and Jeff. Jesse is nowhere to be found.  
  
“So you get training, huh?” Nick says at one point. There’s no malice in his tone, but Blaine’s still a little uncomfortable with what everyone will think of Kurt’s special treatment. “Sebastian must like you.”  
  
Kurt looks at Blaine for a moment, saying, “Doesn’t...everyone get training, at some point?”  
  
“Not the purchases,” Nick replies. “We get what you’d call on-the-job training, generally speaking. We learn as we go.”  
  
“Oh,” Kurt says. “Well...I just--I--”  
  
“It’s okay, Kurt,” Blaine cut in. “They know how it goes.” He turns to Nick. “Kurt’s purchase was...particularly rough. And when Sebastian tried to touch him, he reacted...badly.”  
  
“What does that mean?” Jeff asks.  
  
“I threw up on him,” Kurt offers, his face tight until Jeff bursts out laughing.  
  
“Oh my god.  Is that why you have that bruise on your face? You’re lucky he didn’t kill you!”  
  
“He probably would have,” Kurt says, “but--”  
  
“--but he decided to save his money,” Blaine interrupts. “Kurt is worth quite a bit--”  
  
“--I’ll bet he is--”  
  
“--so he ordered that I train him. Speaking of which,” he says, smiling at Kurt. “I think you and I should finish up here and head to your room to talk. Okay?”  
  
Kurt nods, his eyes full of questions. But they can wait. Blaine bids Jeff and Nick goodnight, knowing full well they’re just waiting for the bathhouse to clear out before making private use of it, and heads to his room, getting fully dressed in his pajama pants and a t-shirt. He doesn’t want to make Kurt at all uncomfortable for what he has to do.  
  
A few minutes later, he knocks on Kurt’s door.  
  
“Come in!”  
  
Kurt’s just pulling down a shirt when Blaine walks in. He sits down on the edge of the bed and waits as Blaine heads to the desk and sits himself in the chair there. He takes a breath--he has orders to start training Kurt, and to find out how he masturbates for Sebastian. Conveniently, he can do both at once.  
  
How to convince Kurt isn’t a matter of convenience at all.  
  
“How are you feeling?” he starts, a little lamely. Kurt raises an eyebrow at him and Blaine half-shrugs, a silent request to just go with it.  
  
Kurt sighs and nods for a moment, his mouth tight.  
  
“I suppose...” He trails off, but then he looks Blaine right in the eye. “It’s not ideal. But I think I can manage.”  
  
He sounds so resigned, so defeated. Blaine’s heart feels like it beats off time for a moment, and the pain of it seeps into his blood.  
  
Hopefully his idea works.  
  
“I need to start training you tonight,” he admits. Kurt tenses up at this, his posture suddenly perfect, his eyes cold.  
  
“What are you going to do to me?”  
  
Blaine shakes his head.  
  
“Nothing.”  
  
Kurt eyes him incredulously. Blaine smiles.  
  
“Would you lie back for me?”  
  
“Do I have a choice?”  
  
“Please,” Blaine pleads. “Please don’t...don’t make it like that. I know how unpleasant this is, Kurt, and I don’t want to do this either. I’m doing the best I can here.”  
  
Kurt looks up at him for a long moment before he seems to slump. But he complies, lying back against his pillows, his legs stretching before him.  
  
“Thank you,” Blaine says, slipping to the ground from his computer chair. “Now, I’m just going to sit down here, and I’ll be facing away, so don’t feel ashamed.”  
  
“Why? What’s going--”  
  
“Just...wait,” Blaine says. “Please just...listen to me. I’ll walk you through it.”  
  
Kurt stays silent. Blaine settles down with his back resting against the bed, elbows resting on his drawn-up knees. He stares at the wall and evens out his breathing.  
  
“Kurt, do you ever touch yourself?”  
  
There’s a telling lack of movement above him that he chooses to ignore for the time being.  
  
“You mean--”  
  
“I mean,” Blaine corroborates, nodding. “Well?”  
  
It’s barely audible, but Blaine hears a faint, “Yes.”  
  
“How often?”  
  
There’s a sound of rustling as Kurt fidgets.  
  
“Not...not really often,” he says. “I don’t...I don’t like to do it. It’s just...I mean, of course it feels good, but I always feel weird afterward, like I was doing something wrong--”  
  
“Did your father ever talk to you about...about any of this?” Blaine asks disbelievingly. When Kurt had gotten around to talking about his father earlier, he’d talked about him like he was a saint, and Blaine can’t imagine the picture Kurt had painted including sex shaming, but it had to come from somewhere.  
  
“Not really,” Kurt replies. “I mean...I don’t think he’d know how to talk to me about it. He completely accepted me being gay, but I’m not sure he understood it very well.”  
  
The way Kurt says gay sets something off in Blaine’s mind.  
  
“Were you...was that why you were bullied, Kurt? For your sexuality?”  
  
Blaine hasn’t ever experienced homophobia himself, being in a world that treats sexuality like it doesn’t matter, but he knows it exists, and Kurt had mentioned having a hard time at school in passing.  
  
“Of course,” he says flippantly. “The neanderthals at my school teased anyone who wasn’t...them. Who showed the least bit of uniqueness or originality.”  
  
“Well, I can tell you that your days of being teased for that are long over,” Blaine says. “And I’m hoping that you’ll learn that masturbating isn’t wrong--it’s healthy, and it can be really enjoyable.”  
  
“That’s what I’m going to do tonight, isn’t it?” Kurt asks. “You’re going to make me touch myself.”  
  
“Pretty much,” Blaine says. It feels callous to say, but it’s the truth; they’ve been over the fact that neither want it. “It’s a good place to start. Now...let’s stop talking about unpleasant things. That’s not going to help anything. Close your eyes for me.”  
  
He gives Kurt a minute to comply, allowing for enough time for Kurt to roll his eyes first before continuing.  
  
“Now touch yourself. Not just...there. Start up high, like at your neck. And just...feel your skin.”  
  
He quiets, listening hard. He can hear little sounds of Kurt moving--the slide of his shirt against his skin, the little shifts of the bed beneath him, the sound of his breath changing just a little bit.  
  
“You know,” he says, on a whim, “you have really great skin, Kurt.”  
  
“I--I do?”  
  
Blaine smiles. “Yeah, you do. From what I’ve felt, it’s...it’s smooth. And it’s so pale, it’s just...it’s beautiful.”  
  
“Well, I take care of it.”  
  
“It shows. How does it feel now?”  
  
Kurt inhales sharply.  
  
“It...it feels good,” Kurt says, a little uncertainly. “I mean, it’s...it is smooth. And warm.”  
  
“Do you like the way your fingers feel?”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
Kurt’s voice has gone so, so quiet. Blaine wonders how sensitive Kurt is.  
  
“Move your hands lower. Touch your chest, and your stomach. Explore...see what feels good.”  
  
“Should I--” Kurt clears his throat. “Should I take off my shirt?”  
  
“That’s a good idea,” Blaine agrees. There’s a rustle and then Kurt’s shirt lands on the floor next to him.  
  
“Okay,” Kurt breathes. “What now?”  
  
“Like I said,” Blaine says softly, “just...explore. Find out what feels good.”  
  
And then Blaine waits. He waits, and he waits, and the entire time he thinks he can hear the faint sound of Kurt’s fingers on his skin. Or maybe he’s just imagining it--either way, he has a very clear picture in his head of Kurt laid out, hands running over his body, his eyes closed, his mouth just a little open to pull in more breath, his fingers touching his collarbone and his nipples and his ribs, drifting down his stomach lightly, pulling at the little bit of hair trailing down into his briefs, goosebumps rippling over his delicate skin in the wake of the oh-so-faint contact as he slides lower and lower--  
  
“Are you hard?” Blaine whispers.  
  
Kurt whines just a little bit, a quiet uh-huh drifting down to Blaine’s ears. Blaine shifts a little bit, adjusting himself discreetly. God, he should not be aroused by this, he lives in sex, he’s seen dozens of men touching themselves, and some of them were even for him--he should not be affected like this.  
  
“Take off your briefs.”  
  
But he is affected.  
  
“There’s lube in your drawer. Put some in your hand, and touch yourself.”  
  
All he wants to do is follow his own orders.  
  
“Take your time. Stroke yourself slowly, use your other hand to play with your thighs and your balls. Touch...touch your hole, just a little bit. Try different grips. Feel...everything.”  
  
Kurt starts whimpering, high and breathy, and Blaine aches, so hard in his own pants. He closes his eyes and imagines Kurt, touching himself not two feet away, feeling himself in a way he never has before, worshipping himself where before he’d treated the pleasure of his body as this perfunctory thing, this problem to get rid of. He might have touched himself before, but Blaine is sure he’s never felt anything like this, and he has to sit here and listen and imagine how Kurt feels. And part of him wonders--is Kurt getting off on his voice?  
  
He can’t resist it. He has to be a part of this somehow, even if he can’t touch.  
  
“Imagine something pleasurable,” Blaine orders. “Imagine someone else touching you, their hands on your body.”  
  
Kurt gasps. Blaine bites his lip and palms his lap before going on.  
  
“Imagine them covering you, leaning down into your arms and making you feel good,” he continues. “Imagine them kissing you--”  
  
“I’ve never been kissed.”  
  
Blaine’s eyes fly open.  
  
“I don’t know what that would feel like,” Kurt says, sounding frantic. “I...I can imagine, but...but I don’t really know. I’ve never been kissed.”  
  
“Keep touching yourself.”  
  
Blaine doesn’t know what to blame. Maybe he shouldn’t have taken such a hands-on approach (though not nearly as hands-on as his imagination clearly wants). Maybe all the blood in his groin had come straight from his head. For whatever reason, he moves to the head of the bed, still sitting, still facing away.  
  
“Would you like to know what it feels like?”  
  
Kurt moans, high and long.  
  
“Yes,” he pants. “Please, Blaine--”  
  
Blaine turns around, kneeling up. He doesn’t look down, he can’t look down, but he can see how Kurt’s shoulders are working, and the sweat beading along his neck and forehead, he can see how desperate Kurt is, how his eyes plead as he looks over at Blaine, flushed and so, so close.  
  
Blaine leans in and kisses him, gentle and sweet. Their lips slot together, and Kurt all but sobs, surging up and capturing Blaine’s top lip between his own. Blaine lets Kurt lead, sneaking one hand up to hold Kurt’s cheek.  
  
And then Kurt cries into his mouth, his body tensing, and he’s coming. Blaine carefully keeps his eyes closed and doesn’t move, letting Kurt have this moment, and then letting him kiss Blaine again as he comes down, so, so softly.  
  
“Thank you,” Kurt says quietly. “For...for that.”  
  
Blaine smiles and stands, turning back around to the wall.  
  
“There should be some wipes in the drawer, too, if you’d like to clean up.”  
  
Kurt doesn’t move.  
  
“I...” He sighs deeply. “I want you to...know how much it means to me. That...my first kiss was with you, and not with Sebastian.”  
  
Blaine doesn’t really know what to say.  
  
“I mean,” Kurt goes on, “I know I’ll have to kiss him eventually. But...it was nice to...have this, for myself. I know you just did it so I’d know what it feels like, but thank you anyway.”  
  
Blaine closes his mouth against the urge to tell Kurt the truth, and nods again.  
  
“Of course,” he says. “I’ll let you clean up and get to sleep.”  
  
He heads to the door, keeping his back to Kurt as much as he can. When he reaches the door, Kurt calls out to him.  
  
Blaine turns. Kurt is still naked, but he’s sitting on the edge of the bed, his shirt retrieved and piled in his lap. He looks up at Blaine with those wide blue eyes and smiles.  
  
“Good night,” he says.  
  
Blaine smiles back tremulously.  
  
“Good night, Kurt.”  
  
When he gets back to his own room, he barely falls down on the bed before he’s got a hand in his pants, jerking himself quickly, already embarrassingly close. And all it takes to push him over is the memory of Kurt’s lips on his own, and the image of maybe letting Kurt do it again, letting him slip his tongue into Blaine’s mouth, and sucking on it--  
  
He comes with Kurt’s name on his lips.  
  
It takes a long time to recover, but when he does he cleans up as quickly as possible, feeling ashamed. The last thing he should be doing is masturbating to the thought of Kurt--innocent, young, not his Kurt. He shouldn’t be thinking about Kurt at all.  
  
But he dreams about him anyway, and what can never be.


	4. Chapter 4

Sebastian settles back in the bath, and gives himself hardly a minute before he looks up at Blaine.  
  
“Did you find out what I asked?”  
  
Blaine doesn’t have to ask what he means.  
  
“Yes, Master,” he replies. It feels dirty, almost, like he’s betraying a secret, but he doesn’t have much of a choice. He’ll just have to be as tactful as possible. “I was able to convince the boy to touch himself while I was present. He informed me that he only touches himself rarely--he had some shame about the act.”  
  
“Had?”  
  
“I...guided him through the process, and he was able to enjoy it rather than seeing it as a nuisance.”  
  
Sebastian looks pleased.  
  
“And what did you say?”  
  
Blaine notices that Sebastian is hardening, and knows what’s expected. And if he didn’t feel like he was tainting what he and Kurt had shared before, he certainly does now.  
  
“I told him to touch his whole body, Master,” Blaine says, hoping he can keep it as brief as possible, but knowing he might not when Sebastian takes himself in hand and unashamedly strokes himself in front of Blaine. “He...enjoyed it, and when I felt he was ready I told him to touch himself intimately. He followed my orders...very, very well. He came not long after.”  
  
No matter what happens, Blaine refuses to speak of their kiss. Not only would it get them both in unimaginable trouble, but Blaine wants to keep it, cherish it. It is his own perfect little thing.  
  
“Tell me more,” Sebastian says, leaning his head back against the tub and speeding his movements, sending water splashing against the side. “Tell me what he’s like.”  
  
Blaine thinks back, trying to come up with anything he can give Sebastian when he hadn’t even been watching.  
  
“I think you’d enjoy the way he sounds,” Blaine blurts out. It’s all he’s got. “He’s...he’s vocal. Not with words, but--he makes these noises. He whimpers. And moans.”  
  
Blaine loses himself for a moment in the memory, but he’s drawn sharply out of it when Sebastian himself moans.  
  
“Keep going,” he says, panting as he works himself over. Blaine can tell he’s close.  
  
“He cries out when he comes,” Blaine says, and that does it. Sebastian tightens up and comes over his hand and into the bathwater, and Blaine holds back a grimace. Sebastian doesn’t seem to care for the moment--he drifts, his head back, his eyes shut, his mouth open to catch his breath.  
  
“I can’t wait to hear it myself,” Sebastian says, lifting his head again after he comes down. He rinses his hand off in the water and stands up, stepping out of the tub quickly and grinning at Blaine. “I’m going to rinse off and then I have something for you.”  
  
Blaine waits patiently while Sebastian showers off briefly. He dries him and dresses him as usual, all the while waiting for Sebastian to bring it up again. He doesn’t until he’s all set to leave, turning to Blaine with a pleased look on his face.  
  
“Your package arrived,” he says. “I got a text from Trent that it came in last night, just after dinner. We’ll have to use this company again if their service is that good. I looked everything over--good choices.”  
  
“Thank you, Master.”  
  
“The box is over here,” Sebastian says, waving Blaine over to his table with him. He sits and starts nibbling at the breakfast he’d ordered in for the morning. The box is sitting right on the table, sleek and black. Blaine runs his hand over the surface before picking it up. “Go train the boy. Now. I’ll take Nick at lunch, and then I’ll see you at dinner.”  
  
Blaine bows his head and turns away at the dismissal.  
  
When he gets back to the harem, he seeks out Nick and lets him know that Sebastian wants him at lunch.  
  
“At lunch, or for lunch,” he deadpans, and Blaine offers him an understanding smile.  
  
“Probably both,” he replies, and Nick shakes his head and goes back to reading, his head in Jeff’s lap as his boyfriend runs his fingers through his hair.  
  
Blaine leaves them to it and heads to Kurt’s room, knocking to see if he’s still in there.  
  
“He’s in the gym,” Jeff pipes up. “He said he wanted to do...something. Um. It was a girl’s name, I’m not sure exactly what. But he borrowed my iPod and went out about twenty minutes ago.”  
  
“Uh, okay,” Blaine says uncertainly. “I’ll...go get him, then.”  
  
He slips into his room and leaves the box on the bed, realizing it’s probably best to ease him into this, and heads toward the back door. He jogs through the yard that lies between the house and the gym/pool and heads in, keeping his eyes peeled.  
  
He finds Kurt in their little dance studio. Nobody’s used it, really, not since Mike, who had been a beautiful dancer. In fact, he’d been bought by a dance company when he’d reached too high an age for Sebastian to keep, and Blaine knows for a fact that Sebastian made plenty of money off of him.  
  
But that was a few years ago, now, and Mike--who had been a great friend of Blaine’s--is long gone.  
  
Kurt, however, is very much here. He’s got some kind of bass-heavy, wordless jumble of sound coming from the dock. And he’s dancing.  
  
It’s not exactly any kind of traditional dancing. It’s definitely a workout. He’s bouncing back and forth across the floor, his arms and legs moving in twisting patterns that never cease, occasionally throwing in a punch or a high kick. He’s sweating and breathing deeply but evenly, his tight t-shirt clinging, dark with sweat, to his back and chest in a way that makes it look surprisingly broad. His sweatpants form to his ass and thighs and Blaine watches, mesmerized, as the muscles shift and tense and push him around energetically.  
  
“Oh!” Kurt falters, turning to Blaine. “I didn’t see you there.”  
  
Blaine’s eyes rake up Kurt’s body before he can help it, following the lines just showing through the damp clothing, and the way it clings to Kurt is almost more erotic than seeing him naked has been. He sees men naked all the time--this tantalizing suggestion, this tease, and the fact that Kurt’s tight, lithe body is forbidden--  
  
“Blaine?”  
  
“Yes,” Blaine says, “sorry. What was that?”  
  
Kurt quirks an eyebrow at him, the corner of his mouth just raising, as though he can’t help it.  
  
“Tracy Anderson Method,” he says. He shrugs wryly. “I could do it in the privacy of my own bedroom, no unfortunate weight room banter required.”  
  
“You’re a good dancer,” Blaine says. Kurt does this adorable little hand wave as he hides his face, and Blaine laughs. “I’m serious. You should teach me.”  
  
Kurt gives him an affected sigh. “Well, I suppose I could show you sometime--”  
  
Blaine puts a sincere hand on his chest and grins.  
  
“Well, then, you have my thanks. Are you almost finished?”  
  
“I’m done,” Kurt says. “I should head back and take a quick shower, just get the sweat off.”  
  
“Sure,” Blaine says. “Come on.”  
  
They walk out together, their silence starting out companionable, but quickly fading into something awkward. Blaine senses the tension rolling off of Kurt.  
  
“I can hear you thinking,” he says. “Want to talk about it?”  
  
“No,” Kurt squeaks. Blaine looks over at him and sees that he’s bright red. “I mean...I’m fine. Just...fine.”  
  
“You’re thinking about what happened last night,” Blaine offers.  
  
Kurt’s breath comes out in a gust.  
  
“Yes,” he admits. “I mean, it was one thing to talk to you right after I...did that, in front of you, because it was late and dark and...you know, in the moment. And I was fine in there because I wasn’t expecting you, but now. I’m just--it’s--”  
  
“Awkward?” Blaine suggests. Kurt grimaces.  
  
“Sorry,” he says.  
  
“Don’t be.” Blaine smiles at him. “I know this is weird for you. But honestly, it won’t last forever. Once I get you trained, the only time I’ll have cause to see you in that kind of moment will be if Sebastian wants me around when you’re with him. I’ll still have to prep you, but that’s as close as we’ll get, and you saw what it’s like with Hunter. It’s over and done with quickly, and if it makes you feel better we can pretend I don’t have to do it when it’s not happening.”  
  
Kurt looks uncertain, but he says nothing as they head into the bathhouse. Here, Kurt pauses.  
  
“You came to get me so you could start training me, didn’t you?”  
  
Blaine’s smile feels strained on his own face.  
  
“I did.”  
  
Kurt nods, his movements a little jerky.  
  
“Well, let me shower first,” he says. “And then...we’ll get to it.”  
  
Blaine nods, intending to turn around and go wait for Kurt in his room, but he’s caught off guard when Kurt starts stripping right in front of him. Before Blaine’s ready for it, Kurt’s shirt is off, his milky chest revealed.  
  
Blaine’s surprise must have shown on his face, because Kurt shrugs.  
  
“I might as well get used to it, right?” he says. Blaine doesn’t like the defeat in his voice, but he says nothing as Kurt turns to the side and pushes down his sweatpants, revealing nothing beneath but skin.  
  
In an even bolder move, Kurt looks down his own body as he balls up the sweaty clothing, bending one leg up onto the ball of his foot and tilting it in, looking down its length himself before peeking up at Blaine. It’s an implicit invitation to look, and Blaine takes it.  
  
Kurt is...gorgeous. Blaine knows exactly why Sebastian turned down the opportunity to make potentially millions of dollars from the most powerful men in the world in order to keep Kurt for himself.  From his beautiful head down to his long feet, he’s striking--his shoulders broad, his stomach flat, his ass pert and tight, his legs going on for miles.   
  
“This is why Sebastian bought me,” Kurt says, his voice drawing Blaine’s eyes up to his face. “Right?”  
  
Blaine nods.  
  
“Of course, Kurt. You’re...you’re beautiful.”  
  
It feels like he crossed a line, but Kurt smiles softly.  
  
“I always thought it was my clothes that made me look good,” he says. “Or the way I styled my hair. The accessories I wore. I was so careful to pick out things that were fashionable and flattering to me. But it turns out that when people value me the most is when I’m not wearing a stitch.”  
  
“You’re more than your body, Kurt,” Blaine insists. “It’s just what you have to use for your job. Keep that in mind--this is work.”  
  
Blaine steps forward and pulls a towel out of a cubby, shaking it out and wrapping it around Kurt’s waist, covering him. Kurt grabs it and holds it up, and his forwardness is abruptly gone. He  looks down, hunching in on himself. Blaine lifts his chin and offers him an encouraging smile.  
  
“Can you please remember that when we’re doing this, and when you have to go to Sebastian?” Blaine asks. It’s the most important thing Kurt needs to know to survive this world, and he’s not entirely sure Kurt’s gotten it yet. Blaine needs him to understand. “What he does to you can’t change who you are unless you let it. And you shouldn’t, Kurt, because who you are is already perfect.”  
  
Kurt’s eyes swim with tears, and Blaine holds their gaze.  
  
“I won’t lie and say this will be easy,” he continues. “It won’t. But you can be tough, and keep Sebastian far from you even when he’s inside you. He can’t get inside you.” He taps Kurt’s chest in emphasis. “If anyone can, it’s because you allowed it and no one else.”  
  
Blaine runs a hand down Kurt’s arm before bending down the grab the dirty clothes from where Kurt had dropped them.  
  
“I’ll go put these where they belong,” he says. “You take your shower, and when you’re ready, I’ll be in my room. Just knock and we’ll go wherever makes you comfortable and we’ll begin.”  
  
With a final smile, Blaine turns around and walks away, tossing the clothes in a hamper on his way out of the bathhouse and back into the harem.  
  
\--  
  
Kurt takes a long time in the shower, and Blaine doesn’t blame him. This is a big deal, and Blaine doesn’t mind if Kurt needs some time to prepare.  
  
It’s probably an hour later by the time he hears the knock on his door.  
  
“Come in!”  
  
Kurt peeks his head in first, only slipping all the way in when Blaine smiles at him. He’s extremely tense, his shoulders drawn up, his arms stiff by his sides. His eyes dart around the room uncertainly.  
  
“So,” he says. “How do we do this?”  
  
Blaine considers for a moment.  
  
“Do you want to do it here, or in your own room?” he ends up asking, hoping to make Kurt as comfortable as possible first and foremost. He won’t be able to do a thing looking like all his joints are about to lock up. “Or anywhere, really. It’s your choice.”  
  
“We can do it here,” Kurt says. “But can we just...shut the door?”  
  
“Of course,” Blaine replies, stepping around Kurt to latch the door firmly. At the sound of it, Kurt seems to relax a little bit, his shoulders dropping away from his ears and settling into a more natural-looking posture.  
  
“Where do you want me?” Kurt asks. Blaine’s eyebrows raise at Kurt’s abruptness, but maybe letting Kurt lead this will be best. If he wants to just get it over with, Blaine can go with that.  
  
“Wherever you’re comfortable.” Blaine looks down and shrugs. “Want to just sit on the floor? We can spread things out and relax a little. This doesn’t have to be a formal thing, Kurt, we can talk about this like friends.”  
  
Kurt bites his lip and looks at the floor, thinking. After a long moment, he shakes his head and sighs.  
  
“The floor works for me,” he says, sinking down to sit cross-legged, his elbows on his knees, his hands folding in front of his mouth.  
  
Blaine sinks down, too, grabbing the box from the bed and bringing it down. He sets it on the floor between them.  
  
“So, shall I show you what we’ll be working with?”  
  
Kurt nods quickly, and Blaine realizes it would be cruel to draw this out, so he immediately takes off the lid and reveals several toys nestled in a pile of velvet.  
  
“Do you know what these are?” Blaine asks, gesturing to the collection in the box.  
  
Kurt shrugs, looking at the items like they’re going to jump out and bite him.  
  
“For the most part,” he says. “I mean...I’ve seen all of them before, but...”  
  
“It’s fine,” Blaine says. “We’ll go over each of them and what we’ll need them for.”  
  
He pulls out the dildo first. It’s smaller than most dildoes he’s come across--about five inches long, and an average thickness. It’s a simple flesh color, made of some high-end silicone blend that’s supposed to feel real. There’s a suction cup, beneath the stiff approximation of balls at the base.  
  
“This is what you’ll mostly be using,” Blaine says, offering it to Kurt, who takes it gingerly and starts studying it. “You’ll learn all the basics on this. Handjob techniques, first. Then we’ll move onto blowjobs, including how to deep throat.”  
  
Kurt makes a choking noise, and Blaine can’t help but chuckle.  
  
“It’s not that bad,” he assures. “I know it sounds horrible, but really, if you do it right, it’s not bad at all, and I can teach you how to do it right.”  
  
Kurt nods, his long fingers playing over the silicone, running up and down the fake veins on its surface. Blaine tries not to watch too closely. He has a feeling it’s going to be hard enough to stay professional for any of this, and getting aroused when Kurt’s just holding the thing is the worst way to start off.  
  
“Once I’ve taught you enough, you can use it to keep practicing,” he continues. “Then we’ll use these.”  
  
He points to three anal plugs lying side by side. They’re all small, the smallest only a few inches long and about as thin as a milkshake straw. The next is wider, about the same as two of Blaine’s fingers together, and the final is almost the width of the dildo. They all taper to greater or lesser degrees, with a flared base. Kurt picks them up.  
  
“They’re...actually pretty,” he says disbelievingly, setting down the dildo to pick up the medium one and turn it around in his hands. And they are pretty--they’re velvety black, with just a bit of sheen. The bases are adorned with a glass jewels swirling in multicolored patterns.  
  
“They are,” Blaine agrees. “When you feel ready, we’ll start using them, working up from this small one to the big one. Either you or I will finger you open enough to take whichever one you’re on, and then I want you to spend at least an hour a night with it in, so you can get used to it. Then, whenever you decide, we’ll start training you on the dildo. Positions, techniques. And I’ll do my best to teach you how to enjoy it, as well. Sebastian is the one in control, for the most part, but a good bed slave can get him to do what we like. It just takes a little flattery and the ability to position ourselves well.”  
  
Kurt sets the plug down and looks back in the box.  
  
“Okay,” he says. “So the rest of it.”  
  
Blaine nods.  
  
“Just general equipment,” he says. “I got you some lube, and it comes with a shooter if you’d like to use that. There’s a little enema kit, and you won’t generally need to use it, but you should know how, just in case. Sebastian doesn’t demand it, but if he has a party or a friend he wants to impress with one of us, it’s a good idea to use it. And then there’s condoms, which you keep on hand for use if you’re with anyone but Sebastian, usually at parties.”  
  
Kurt keeps looking at all of it, his eyes running over everything. Blaine watches him carefully, hoping to garner something of what he’s thinking, but his expression is determinedly blank.  
  
“And what’s that?”  
  
Blaine feels his face color as he looks down to the item in question. Purchasing this had been an impulse, something for Kurt himself, and he hadn’t been entirely sure what either Sebastian or Kurt would think of it. Sebastian hadn’t mentioned it--thankfully--but now he had to face what Kurt thought of his own thought process in buying it.  
  
“It’s a vibrator,” he says simply. “It can be a lot of fun to use...on yourself. During your own time.”  
  
Kurt picks it up. It’s a dark, lush red, with a white base.  
  
“So...am I going to be trained with this?”  
  
Blaine shakes his head. He tries to come up with some kind of reasoning, some explanation that will give Kurt the impression that this will benefit him as a slave, but it’s not true--Blaine bought it so that Kurt could have it to himself.  
  
“No, that’s just for you,” he says, deciding on honesty. “You should be able to enjoy yourself, and this will help.”  
  
Kurt smiles.  
  
“I never thought somebody buying me a sex toy would be sweet,” he says wryly, “but it is. Thank you.”  
  
Blaine nods awkwardly. “You’re welcome.”  
  
There’s a long pause, and the silence draws out. It’s seriously uncomfortable, and Blaine shifts where he sits, unsure of how to get to what they have to do next.  
  
Kurt--blunt, fearless Kurt--saves them.  
  
“Well, I suppose we should get started,” he says, placing the vibrator back in the box delicately and picking up the dildo instead. “So what do I do first?”  
  
Ideally, Blaine wants Kurt to get used to touching a dick that is not his own by the end of the night, or at least get him somewhat comfortable. His initial thought is to hold it in his own lap, to give Kurt an idea of what it’ll be like to do it to somebody, but he knows he’ll react and then the dildo won’t be necessary at all.  
  
He can’t cross that line.  
  
“Let’s get this set up somewhere so you don’t have to hold it with your other hand,” Blaine says, standing up. “Come on, over here.”  
  
He leads Kurt to the end of his bed. He’s got a trunk there, a sleek polished thing, and he thinks the suction cup could stick to it pretty well. He kneels next to it and gestures for Kurt to join him, reaching out for the dildo. Kurt hands it over and kneels next to him as Blaine sticks it on and tests it. It stays pretty well.  
  
“Okay,” he says. He circles it with his own hand and gives it a few strokes, looking over at Kurt. “It’s going to be a lot like doing this to yourself, but the angle is different and you might need a different grip. Go ahead and try it, see how it feels.”  
  
He pulls his own hand back and settles back to watch. Kurt reaches out tentatively and runs his fingers over the head and down the shaft, very lightly.  
  
“That’s actually a good way to tease,” Blaine says. Kurt jumps a little, apparently startled, his head whipping around to stare at Blaine. “Sorry,” Blaine continues. “But what you were doing--it’s good, sometimes. It can get a guy really riled up to be touched that lightly, because all he’ll be able to think about is wanting more. Just don’t do it for too long, or he’ll get frustrated and that’s not good.”  
  
Kurt nods, immediately circling his fingers around the base. He adjusts after a moment, finding a good grip, and starts stroking with smooth undulations of his wrist.  
  
“Good,” Blaine says. He reaches out and places his hand over Kurt’s, gently guiding it along with his words. “Sebastian likes long strokes, with a hard grip. And when he gets close, twist around the head when you switch into the downstroke.”  
  
Blaine releases Kurt’s hand and lets him do it himself, and he seems to have it down pretty quickly. Blaine gets an idea and stands.  
  
“Keep doing that,” he says, rising, “but I’m going to grab the lube and let you know what it feels like when it’s slick--it’s a little different, and you can use a different technique--”  
  
“Wait.”  
  
Blaine pauses, just about to walk over to where they’d left the box on the floor, and looks down at Kurt.  
  
“Can...I can...”  
  
Kurt takes a deep breath, a faint dusting of pink over his cheeks.  
  
“Can I get it wet with my mouth?”  
  
The question startles Blaine so much that he splutters loudly before he can stop himself.  
  
“Uh, I--yes--I mean, uh...Kurt, that’s...um.”  
  
“Is that an actual yes?” Kurt asks, and he has a smug smile all over his face, the little--  
  
“You can,” Blaine says, coming back to his spot and kneeling again. “Saliva doesn’t work nearly as well as lube for a lot of things, but for a handjob it can do pretty well as long as you either hurry up or get ready to refresh it a lot. It dries fast.”  
  
“Okay. So I can just--” He shuffles forward on his knees and rises up.  
  
“Kurt, you don’t have to do anything you’re not ready for,” Blaine says, stopping him. “You don’t have to rush this.”  
  
“Look, Blaine, I might as well just get it over with,” Kurt replies seriously. “The faster that I accept that this is my life now, the better. I know Sebastian’s not going to wait forever, so I might as well do this on my own terms. Now I’m going to...fellate this dildo.” Kurt’s cheeks flame brightly when he says it, and Blaine fights off a ridiculous urge to laugh. “So you might as well teach me how.”  
  
And there’s really nothing Blaine can say against this unless he wants to basically encourage Kurt to feel bad for himself, so he lets it go.  
  
“Okay,” he says, unsticking the dildo from the trunk and handing it to Kurt. “This will give you some control while you learn. Now. The most important thing you need to know is that you should never use your teeth. Keep them as out of the way as you can. Go ahead and take the dildo in your mouth, see how it feels.”  
  
Kurt steels himself and leans forward, opening his mouth. He starts to push the dildo in, but it bumps his teeth.  
  
“That didn’t work,” he says.  
  
“Your mouth wasn’t open enough,” Blaine says. “I know it’ll feel weird, but open a little more. And you can put your tongue just over your bottom teeth, and keep your top lip down.”  
  
Kurt follows his instructions, licking his lips for a moment before opening his mouth wide around the dildo as it slips in. He closes his lips and pushes it in a little farther, looking uncertain.  
  
“That’s just right,” Blaine says encouragingly. “Now get some spit worked up, and you can move your tongue around it, kind of...cup it, I guess.”  
  
Kurt nods, letting out a noise that’s probably supposed to communicate something. It’s simultaneously adorable and so, so sexy--Blaine knows that the vibrations would feel amazing around his cock--  
  
A cock. Sebastian’s cock. Not his.  
  
“Here, let’s stick it back on the trunk,” Blaine says. Kurt pulls it from his mouth, sticking his tongue out and working his jaw. “I know, it can be uncomfortable. Let’s get it set up and try again, and I’ll teach you how to control it a little better.”  
  
A minute later, and Kurt is kneeling up, his mouth again around the head of the dildo, his tongue moving inside his mouth at Blaine’s instruction.  
  
“Good, keep swirling,” he says. “And if you’re feeling up to it, flick it a little in the slit. It feels good, but only go for it if you’re ready to get a strong taste of precome.”  
  
“I think I’m ready to go deeper.” Kurt keeps his hand on the base when he pulls off, his lips shiny and just starting to redden when he looks up at Blaine. “Was my mouth okay before?”  
  
“It was great, Kurt,” Blaine says. “Go ahead and do it again, just like before.”  
  
Kurt moves back over and sinks down on the dildo, taking about half of it in his mouth before pulling back up.  
  
“Here.” Blaine slides closer to him and lifts his hands. “I’m going to move your jaw just a little bit, okay? Try to relax.”  
  
He places his hands on Kurt’s jaw, which is, as he thought, tight. He softly massages it with his thumbs, pulling gently until it drops, and on the next movement down Blaine guides Kurt deeper.  
  
“Now suck as you go up,” Blaine instructs, still lightly stroking Kurt’s jaw as he continues to bob. Kurt’s cheeks hollow as he pulls up, and Blaine nods approvingly. “You doing okay?”  
  
“Mmhm.”  
  
Kurt looks over at Blaine, his mouth stretched around the dildo, and Blaine immediately focuses on the dildo rather than on Kurt himself. He’s too close to this, too readily affected, and the sight of Kurt readily sucking off a cock--even a fake one--for the first time is shooting unwelcome sparks down his spine.  
  
“Okay,” he says, clearing his throat. “I’m not going to have you try deep-throating tonight, but I can teach you how to take it without gagging suddenly, at least.”  
  
He puts a careful hand on the back of Kurt’s head and pushes gently until he sees Kurt’s throat moving. He pulls him back just a touch.  
  
“Now, open your throat,” he says. “Like you’re yawning, or getting ready to sing in your chest voice.”  
  
He gives Kurt a second, and then pushes down again, very gently. Kurt goes down a little further this time, but he still stops short and clearly gags.  
  
“It’s okay.” Blaine releases Kurt’s head, and Kurt pulls off, gasping for air. “You did very well for your first time, and you can keep practicing on your own. We’ll come back to it and talk more about technique another time, okay?”  
  
“Wait,” Kurt says, clearing his throat. He grips the dildo firmly in his hand and starts stroking, using his own saliva as a lubricant. “You’re right, it’s different.”  
  
“Squeeze harder on the upstroke,” Blaine says. “Your hand will move a little faster but you’ll spare your arm a little. Still twist--that’s right. Good!”  
  
Kurt swipes the back of his hand over his mouth and then wipes his hand on his pants, grimacing a little.  
  
“Messy,” he says.  
  
“Sex is messy,” Blaine agrees. “You’d be surprised.”  
  
“Is that basically what it’s going to be like?”  
  
“Pretty much,” Blaine says. “Except Sebastian’s going to be there, and he’ll be moving, and he likes to play with your hair when you’re doing that. He might push a little. We’ll get you comfortable enough to take it before you have to do it for real, don’t worry.”  
  
“Is...does that feel...right?” Kurt asks. “I obviously know that silicone doesn’t really feel like skin, but does it make a big difference?”  
  
“It can,” Blaine says. “You know from your hand that skin’s a lot smoother, a lot warmer. And the cock will be firmer, too, that silicone is a little too soft. But the idea’s the same, and it won’t make too much more of a difference. You’ll adjust to it quickly, anyway, I’m sure.”  
  
He notices then that Kurt’s face is a little flushed. It wouldn’t mean anything usually--Kurt is fair, and this is an awkward situation--but he’s still breathing a little heavily.  
  
“Have you ever...”  
  
Blaine looks between Kurt and the dildo and wonders what he’s asking.  
  
“Um...yeah, of course,” he answers, guessing the question. “Sebastian has us give them to him all the time--”  
  
“No, I mean...have you ever gotten one?” Kurt asks. There’s a little bit of a gleam in his eyes, and Blaine’s pants tighten alarmingly when he realizes.  
  
This whole thing didn’t only affect Blaine. Kurt is turned on.  
  
“I have, a couple of times,” Blaine replies.  
  
“From your boyfriend?”  
  
“Jeremiah,” Blaine offers. “We weren’t together for very long, so I could probably count it all on my hands, but yeah. I’ve...received.”  
  
“Does it...it feels good, obviously.”  
  
“It feels very good,” Blaine says. “It’s...it’s a lot like you’d expect, I guess. It’s wet, and it’s...kind of soft. And warm. And it feels like...like you’re enveloped? The sensations don’t really stop, not like a handjob where you don’t get constant sensation because you’re not being touched everywhere. A blowjob feels...everywhere. If that makes any sense.”  
  
“Well, not really,” Kurt replies, “because I have no idea what you’re talking about, experience-wise. But I guess I could imagine it.”  
  
Unfortunately, talking about this with Kurt is doing nothing to help his swelling cock, and he’s half-afraid to stand up and end this because he’s sure he’ll be presenting Kurt with a face-full of inappropriate boner.  
  
So he buys some time.  
  
“I don’t know if I told you, but I got Sebastian to put in for your clothes and a subscription to Vogue.”  
  
Kurt’s eyes light up.  
  
“You did? Oh, I can’t wait, I’ve missed the past two issues--”  
  
It only takes a few minutes of talking for Blaine’s body to calm down. He’s a little miffed about it needing to, to be honest--he’s twenty-four years old, but his attraction to Kurt is getting to him; he’s doing and thinking things he hasn’t since he was a teenager. Like masturbating to anything but a nebulous idea of pleasure, a faceless lover. No, now he jerks off thinking of his sixteen-year-old, sexually enslaved protege and gets unbearably turned on by his tentative attempts at a blowjob while sitting less than a foot away.  
  
He just has no idea what to do with it. He’ll just have to...push through. Kurt is still new here, and Blaine isn’t yet used to his stunning beauty or his general presence. His strange fascination will fade.  
  
It has to.  
  
“Well, I have to get going,” Blaine says finally. “Sebastian will be having dinner soon. But I’ll see you after?”  
  
Kurt nods, standing with Blaine and smiling.  
  
“I’ll clean up in here,” Kurt says, his eyes following Blaine as he checks his outfit and his hair in the mirror. “You go ahead.”  
  
“Thanks, Kurt,” Blaine says sincerely, squeezing Kurt’s shoulder on his way by. “I’ll be back in--”  
  
“Blaine, can I tell you something?”  
  
Blaine turns back. Kurt is standing in the middle of the room, his hands clasped low, wringing his fingers together. He looks entirely uncertain and nervous. Blaine smiles softly.  
  
“You can tell me anything, Kurt,” he says honestly. “I’m not going to judge you.”  
  
“It’s just that...” Kurt sighs, rolling his eyes at himself. “I wanted to thank you. For...being...you. For being so...kind. I know it’s pathetic, but you’re probably the best friend I’ve ever had.”  
  
He looks so dejected. Blaine acts on a whim and steps forward, throwing his arms around Kurt’s shoulders and hugging him tight. It takes a minute, but Kurt hugs him back.  
  
There are plenty of things he could say, but they all feel too close. Too...vulnerable. Blaine cares about Kurt, wants him to be happy and wants to help him, but he’s already getting in too deep. But it doesn’t stop him wanting to return the sentiment, to tell Kurt that he feels like they’ve known each other forever, that he’s wished all his life he could look for someone like Kurt. And he just happened, and it feels like more.  
  
“I think there’s some cheesecake ice cream in the freezer,” he says instead. “We should pig out on it later and watch that new superhero movie Nick keeps going on about.”  
  
“Why?” Kurt asks incredulously.  
  
“Because I’m pretty sure someone’s gonna be in tights,” Blaine says, pulling back. Kurt bursts out laughing.  
  
“Well, who am I to complain?” he says coyly, making Blaine laugh back.  
  
“I’ll be back in a bit,” Blaine finishes.  
  
He heads out, the feeling of Kurt in his arms haunting him all through dinner.


	5. Chapter 5

Blaine swallows and wipes the back of his mouth, kneeling up between Sebastian’s legs. When he sees Sebastian still recovering above him, his mouth open and panting loudly, his hips still flexing up to seek a mouth that is no longer there, Blaine grins.

As much as he sometimes hates this life, he still takes a certain professional pride in what he does.

“I’ll wait for you in the bathroom, Master,” he says, unable to keep a little bit of pride out of his voice, and he knows he’s strutting a little more than necessary on his way to the bath that, once again, Nick helped fill. He stands in his normal spot and waits.

Sebastian comes in a few minutes later, surprising Blaine with a heavy kiss before he slips into the water.

“I’d ask where that came from,” he says, stretching and luxuriating in the warm water, “but I don’t want to jinx it.”

Blaine bows his head and smiles, hiding his true thoughts. The fact of the matter is that he couldn’t stop imagining Kurt with his lips around the dildo, and he’d automatically done all the things he knew he should teach Kurt to do.

He is still denying to himself that he’d been imagining giving Kurt a practical demonstration.

“I’m glad you liked it, Master,” he says instead, offering Sebastian a warm smile. Sebastian returns it.

“I have a surprise,” he says.

Blaine blinks, raising his eyebrows.

“I’m hosting a banquet tonight,” Sebastian continues, looking rather smug at Blaine’s shock. “I had Trent take care of the details--he needed _something_ to do. Several of my friends are coming, and I’ll expect all of my boys in attendance. Nick, Jeff, and Hunter can tend to the guests--I want you and Jesse to stay with me, and show Kurt how it’s done.”

“Yes, Master,” he replies simply, knowing that Sebastian isn’t done.

“You know the kinds of things to wear to this sort of thing.” Sebastian’s eyes go far away, narrowing and glistening in the steam. “I took the liberty of checking over the information in Kurt’s folder and adding to his clothing requests. Everything he wished for has come in--including the outfit I commissioned. Make sure he wears it tonight--I designed it especially for him. And make sure he knows how grateful he should be that I granted all of his requests.”

“Yes, Master.”

“I’ll take no one at midday,” Sebastian continued. “I’m sure tonight will be a night of excess, and I don’t want to tire myself preemptively. The kitchens have their orders, paperwork can wait, and I don’t have any meetings, so I intend to enjoy today, and tonight as well. When we’re finished here I want you to go and make the success of our boys tonight your priority. Make sure they’re pretty and polished and prepped, do you understand?”

“Yes, Master.”

“Good boy,” Sebastian purrs, stepping out of the bath and allowing Blaine to dry him. “I do look forward to seeing how my boys look tonight, so make sure everyone’s especially lovely, all right?”

“Yes, Master.”

Blaine finishes dressing Sebastian and is abruptly left alone as Sebastian sweeps out of the room without a word. He stares after him for a moment, a little stunned, but he shakes his head and recovers enough to grab the pile of boxes waiting on the bench by the door and head back to the harem.

“You’re back early,” Jesse says when he walks in. He doesn’t offer to help Blaine with the boxes. “Did Sebastian go limp the moment you tried to stick that overused gape you call a mouth on him? Or was it...well, I was going to ask if he was put off by the fact that your face is becoming decreasingly visible beneath the outward creeping of your eyebrows, but I think at this point anything that hides your wrinkles would be a blessing.”

“Good morning, Jesse,” Blaine replies brightly. He knocks the side of his foot against Kurt’s door and hopes it’s loud enough to wake him. “You’re in fine form this morning.”

“Of course I am, unlike the Pillsbury Dough Boy whose door you are uselessly knocking down.”

“Where is he?”

“Brad and Mangelina took him outside when they heard he could do more with his foot than badly tiptoe from your room late at night.”

Blaine opens Kurt’s door and sets the boxes down just inside before slipping back out and closing the door again. He turns to Jesse.

“What are you talking about?”

“Last night,” Jesse says, a look of completely unbelievable innocence all over his face. “Did you forget my room is next to yours? I heard him creep out in the early hours of the morning. You might want to be more discreet. Teach him that when doors open and close they make noise if you’re not careful.”

“We were watching a movie, Jesse,” Blaine says firmly. “So be careful what you’re implying.”

“Touchy, touchy,” Jesse drawls, throwing up his hands in surrender. “You should be careful what you get riled up about. Someone might think something’s actually going on.”

Blaine shakes his head and glares at Jesse. The truth is, the moment Jesse mentioned Kurt leaving so late the night before, guilt had flashed through him. They really hadn’t done anything--they’d just watched a movie. And if they’d ended up pressed together in some weak approximation of cuddling, it was only because Blaine was so tired and had slumped over by accident. That’s all. As soon as the movie was over, Kurt slipped away and went back to his own room. Nothing _untoward_ occurred.

But Jesse is definitely trying to get a rise out of Blaine by implying that it had. Blaine will just have to be careful.

He opens his mouth to brush Jesse off, but is interrupted by the main doors opening, revealing Nick, Jeff, and Kurt laughing and disheveled.

“Blaine, we’re gonna need to send someone out to the forest,” Nick says without greeting. “We lost our football.”

Blaine is instantly confused.

“What were you doing in the forest?”

“We weren’t in the forest,” Jeff explains. “We were in the yard. But Kurt kicked the football into the forest.”

“Why were you close enough to--”

“We weren’t,” Nick interrupts. “We were next to the house.”

Blaine blinks. He feels like he’s missing something.

“I was kicker for my high school’s football team for one game,” Kurt says. “The coach recruited me when he saw me kick a dent in one of the dumpsters I was being thrown in. Apparently bending metal with my foot is impressive.”

“No, kicking a football almost sixty yards is impressive,” Nick cuts in. “Seriously, Blaine, we stayed as far away from the fence as we could, and it went right over.”

“I’ll send one of the house slaves out to fetch it tomorrow,” Blaine says, waving it off. “Hang around for a minute before you go wash off, I’ve got an announcement. Where’s Hunter?”

“He’s in his room, unless he’s suddenly mastered stealth and slipped past us,” Jesse says.

“Well, go get him, would you?” Blaine asks. “It’s important to tell you guys this as soon as possible.”

A few minutes later, a sleepy Hunter joins them, yawning and scratching his bare belly. Blaine notices Kurt’s eyes drifting to the impressive stretch of muscles there and swallows.

_He’s allowed to look,_ Blaine tells himself. _He’s just curious. What does it even matter?_

“Now that we’re all here,” he says aloud, “I have to let you know that Sebastian is having a party tonight. A banquet, specifically.”

There are murmurs among the boys, but Blaine pushes through.

“He’s asked that Jesse and I attend to him, with Kurt shadowing so he can learn the ropes. Hunter, Nick, and Jeff, you’ll be seeing to his guests.”

“How many are coming?” Hunter asks.

“He didn’t say,” Blaine replies. “And let’s be honest, he probably doesn’t know--you know how his friends are about showing up to these things.”

Everyone but Kurt nods in agreement. Sebastian’s friends have a habit of not responding to invitations and showing up whenever they want, if they show up at all. And Sebastian does it himself, when he gets an invite. Every single one of them are under the impression that they are the most important person in existence and life cannot go on without them, so naturally they treat everyone else like dirt.

“So we know what this means,” Blaine continues. “Spend today getting ready. Relax, pamper yourselves, make sure you’re clean and groomed, make sure your outfits are all ready. If you need anything, I’ll be around. And please, remember to be careful what you eat. No garlic or broccoli or anything that will make you bloat or smell, please--”

“Won’t happen again,” Jeff calls.

“Thank you,” Blaine says. “And please make sure you’re prepped. Nick and Jeff, I know you two will take care of each other. Hunter and Jesse--”

“No,” Jesse spits.

“I know you don’t like it, but I can’t take care of both of you in time to keep you ready for the night,” Blaine says. “Unless one of you wants to wear a plug when I switch over to the other, you’re going to have to do it for each other, and I’ll be checking _all_ of you before we go. So do a good job, no one wants to waste time or get in trouble.”

“Why doesn’t he help?” Jesse asks shortly, nodding over at Kurt. “I know his lily white ass is off limits for no reason I can discern, but he should be perfectly capable of prepping. It’s a skill we all need; it’s not exactly difficult.”

“You want Kurt to prep you, Jesse?”

“I don’t care who he preps,” Jesse shoots back, “but he should pull his weight. Or does he think he’s too good to get his precious fingers dirty?”

“I’ll do it.”

Blaine looks between them--Jesse is smirking in a way that makes Blaine uncomfortable, but Kurt seems determined, a pleasant smile on his face that doesn’t quite match the fire in his eyes.

“Are you sure--”

“Of course I’m sure,” Kurt interrupts.

“You think you’re ready to handle my ass, princess?”

“Shouldn’t be difficult,” Kurt replies sweetly. “I mean, how long could it actually take? I might have to fight through miles of cellulite, but once that’s out of the way, stretching your already-gaping hole should be a piece of cake.”

“Oh, I’m sure you’d know all about pieces of cake, judging by the size of your thighs.”

“Enough,” Blaine says. “Both of you stop it. Kurt, if you’re comfortable, you can prep Hunter. Jesse, I’ll find you before the party and prep you myself.”

That ends it. Nick and Jeff wander off to the bathhouse together, hand in hand, and Blaine watches them go with a wistful smile on his face, unable to help himself even though he sees it all the time. They’re lucky to have found each other, and even luckier to have been allowed to keep each other. Even slaves should be allowed to deserve that happiness.

“So what do I have to do today?”

Blaine breaks away from Nick and Jeff’s retreating forms and turns to Kurt, a flush of pleasure running through him as he remembers the treat he has for Kurt to find.

“Well, first and foremost, you have to make sure the clothes I just left in your room are what you ordered.”

Kurt gasps, his eyes wide and a happy grin stretching his mouth.

“Really?” he asks, clapping his hands once. “That was fast, I can’t believe I really get these clothes--oh, Blaine, thank you.”

“Thank Sebastian, he’s the one that bought them,” Blaine says. “I just put in the request.”

“I know,” Kurt says. “That’s what I was thanking you for.”

Blaine follows him into his room and sits at the desk, watching fondly as Kurt opens each box, pulling out garments and crowing over them delightedly.

“Oh my god, Blaine, I’ve never had anything of this quality,” he breathes, holding a tight, soft sweater to his face. “I mean, I’ve gotten stuff on eBay before, and I’ve found some great finds at thrift stores, but...this is amazing. Oh, I want to wear all of it!”

“Wouldn’t that be hot?” Blaine asks, feigning confusion.

“Oh, shut up,” Kurt says, smacking his knee with the pair of the pants he’d just folded and going back for the next box. “So what should I wear to the party tonight? Oh, that’s heavy.”

“That might be your magazines and books,” Blaine says, jumping up to help him settle it on the desk. They peek under the lid. “Looks like. Two years’ back issues of Vogue, and I can tell you now you have a continuing subscription. And...everything else you ordered, and there’s a lot. Magazines are surprisingly heavy.”

“I take fashion very seriously,” Kurt says, turning up his nose and grabbing the next box. “So what’s this--”

He opens the box, unfolds the paper, and stares down at the outfit within.

“I...didn’t order that.”

Blaine picks it up and inspects it.

“No,” he says. “Sebastian did. He let me know he looked at your measurements and ordered something special for you. It’s for the party tonight.”

Kurt’s face blanches.

“He...he wants me to wear _that_?” he squeaks. “In front of _people_? I mean, I know I drew some stuff like that the other day, but at least mine had some _fashion_ involved.”

“Well, the point of us being there is to be kind of ...tantalizing--”

“I think tacky might be more accurate at this point.”

Blaine chuckles.

“We all have outfits like that,” he says. “It’s just what Sebastian likes to see. It’s only for a couple of hours, and I’m sure you’ll make it look fabulous.”

“Well, we’ll see,” Kurt says, laying it back in the box with quickly-withdrawn fingertips, as though he is worried about it contaminating him.

“So what now?” Kurt asks, after a long pause. Blaine considers for a moment.

“Well, generally speaking everyone’s just going to pamper themselves today. Lots of lazing in the bath, making sure we smell and look nice. Most of the time, when there’s a party, Sebastian sends in people to give us massages and facials and stuff, but I think this was so thrown together that nobody thought of it. So we’ll do it ourselves. And then when tonight comes, we’ll all get ourselves prepped, just in case someone wants to make use of us, and then we head out.”

“Will I have to be prepped too?” Kurt asks, obviously nervous.

“Not tonight,” Blaine replies. “You’re just watching tonight. You might have to pour Sebastian’s wine or something, but you’ll just sit back and observe, get to know what will be required of you. Though I’ll warn you, Sebastian will probably grope you a little when he starts drinking. Just let him--he won’t do anything to hurt you.”

Kurt looks like he finds this distasteful, but he doesn’t say anything.

“You want to go to the bath?” Blaine asks. “The others will be in there, and they can tell you some good stories about other parties they’ve been to. They can be really fun.”

“Okay,” Kurt agrees. “Let’s go get pretty.”

\--

The boys spend the day in and out of the bathhouse, bathing and grooming themselves until the early afternoon, at which time they disperse, most of them opting to nap until they need to prepare themselves that evening.

Blaine wakes from a pleasant doze to his alarm buzzing away. He slaps it off and rises from bed with a satisfying stretch, his body feeling loose and relaxed. Good thing, too--it’ll make prepping himself easier. He could let one of the other boys do it, but for a few reasons he’s never felt comfortable letting anyone else do it. Maybe it makes him hypocritical--after all, he insists on at least checking the other boys, if only for their own good--but it’s one of the rare times he’ll take advantage of his superior position in the household. He feels better doing it himself.

He’s in the bathroom finishing up an enema when the idea hits him.

Kurt’s going to be prepping Hunter tonight--they decided that earlier. But he’ll be by himself, since Blaine will be busy with Jesse. He knows Hunter is perfectly capable of making sure Kurt does it right, but Blaine knows how uncomfortable Kurt has been, and how acerbic Hunter can be. Maybe it’s better if he puts aside his own discomfort and lets Kurt prep him first, just to get in practice with someone he trusts.

And Kurt trusts him. _He_ is Kurt’s _best friend_.

Blaine’s heart warms at the thought. The boys in the harem are always close, to one extent or another. Their shared situation gives them a connection, but it’s different with Kurt, it has been from the start. Yes, a big part of it is Blaine increasingly undeniable attraction to Kurt, but they share a connection on a deeper level. It’s only been a few days, and he feels closer to Kurt than he has to anyone, even Jeremiah. After all, he and Jeremiah had been friends, of course, as well as lovers, but he never spent an entire day just talking to Jeremiah. He never fell asleep watching movies with Jeremiah. There was never that level of ease, mostly because they hadn’t really known each other for long enough to achieve it. But with Kurt it was instant.

He can do this. He can sacrifice a little of his comfort to ensure Kurt’s own. After all, Blaine is fairly certain that Jesse was just trying to throw Kurt off, to embarrass him and put him in a situation he doesn’t know how to handle. It’s Jesse’s style, and he’s frankly surprised that this is only Jesse’s first attempt.

He can do this.

He heads into his room and lays out his outfit for the night. It’s Sebastian’s favorite on him--tight white jeans that hug his ass, and a top entirely made of thin, black silk rope that circle his torso and down onto his thighs in a mimicry of bondage, held artfully with ornate silver clasps instead of thick knots. He adds a pair of black boots with a faint grimace--he hates shoes as a rule, and prefers to wear something easy to slip out of when he feels like it. But he’s sure the outfit won’t look good with boat shoes or moccasins, and he’d rather not attempt it.

When it’s all set, he takes a deep breath. He’ll go to Kurt’s room, let Kurt prep him, and then just come back and get dressed and go about making sure the rest of the boys are ready.

No big deal.

He heads to Kurt’s door and hears music on the other side of the door. He knocks, and waits, and gets no response.

“Kurt?”

He knocks again, but after a moment of no response, he opens the door and peeks his head in.

Kurt is kneeling next to his desk. His dildo is suctioned to one smooth side of it, at the height of Kurt’s mouth, which is wrapped around its girth. Just as he enters, Kurt sinks forward over it, drawing most of its length into his mouth, deeper than Blaine had been able to get him. He has only his thumb and forefinger wrapped around the base, and his lips almost touch them.

“Oh,” Blaine says automatically, startled at the sight and the fact that it immediately sent blood rushing down his body.

Kurt jumps and pulls off the dildo with a cough, clutching his chest and falling to the side, landing on his hip. He stares up at Blaine for a moment before panting and closing his eyes.

“Oh my god, you scared the shit out of me,” he breathes, struggling for breath.

“I’m sorry!” Blaine says, slipping in and shutting the door before heading over to Kurt and offering him a hand up. “Are you okay?”

Kurt grips his hand and rises, glaring at him a little bit.

“Well, I’m sure at least ten years were just taken off my life, but otherwise I’m fine,” he says dryly. “Don’t you knock?”

“I did, twice,” Blaine says. Kurt shuts off the music and sighs. “I could have...knocked louder?”

“It’s fine, Blaine,” Kurt says. “What’s up? Time to get ready?”

“Sort of,” Blaine replies. “I wanted to...um...”

He realizes then that this is going to be awkward. Even beyond his own reticence to allowing someone to do this, bringing it up at all is going to be uncomfortable for both of them, but he hadn’t exactly planned for this. He kicked himself for his impulsivity, debating whether or not to go on, especially with the unfortunate reactions he’s consistently having to Kurt whenever anything remotely sexual occurs.

Where did his objectivity go?

“What?” Kurt asks.

Blaine looks at him, and he’s hit with why he decided to do this. Kurt’s going through enough as it is, and Blaine’s the only one he’s comfortable with.

“I know prepping Hunter is going to be strange for you, especially since you’ll be doing it by yourself,” he says, suddenly calm and ready to face whatever Kurt’s response is as his friend. “So I thought I’d give you the opportunity to learn before you have to dive in.”

Kurt stares at him for a long moment before realization dawns on his face.

“You mean...on you?”

“Yeah,” Blaine says. The look of shock on Kurt’s face isn’t very promising, but he’s sure he should follow through on this. “After all, it’s my job to train you, right?”

“I think I could manage just doing it on Hunter,” Kurt says, his voice alarmingly high, his cheeks flaming. “Like Jesse said, it’s not hard, and I already saw you do it once.”

Blaine pauses, a little thrown by the reaction.

“Are you sure?” he asks. “I’m fine with it, it’s not--”

“No, no,” Kurt cuts him off. “I’m sure. So you can go now.”

Blaine frowns. “O-okay.”

He turns and leaves, confused and, truth be told, a little hurt, even though it’s silly. Kurt’s dismissal of him was abrupt, though, and Blaine is still trying to catch up with what happened.

“Why do you look like someone kicked your dog?”

Blaine looks up and sees Nick wandering out of the bathhouse, toweling his hair off.

“Um,” Blaine says.

“What’s up?” Nick asks, looking more and more concerned.

“It’s nothing,” Blaine says. “I was just offering to let Kurt practice prepping on me so he wouldn’t be so nervous with Hunter, and he...kind of freaked out.”

“Uh, yeah,” Nick replies, nodding like it’s obvious. “Of course he did.”

“What?”

Nick gives him an unamused look.

“Are you dumb?” Nick steps forward, lowering his voice. “It’s one thing to train him on a piece of silicone, but it’s another to expect him to actually touch you--”

“But he’s going to be touching Hunter soon!”

“Yeah, but he doesn’t have a crush on Hunter,” Nick says frankly. “You being his sexy Yoda is hard enough for him, but now you’re trying to get him to actually feel you up? No wonder he panicked.”

Oh.

Oh god.

“Kurt has a crush on me?”

Nick doesn’t even reply. He just stares at Blaine with the same serious look on his face.

“But--I mean...” Blaine pinches the bridge of his nose. “This is bad.”

“Don’t even try to tell me you don’t like him back,” Nick says. “You two look at each other like you’re about to burst into song any minute.”

Blaine immediately shakes his head.

“I can’t,” he says simply. Nick knows his story.

“It’s been years, Blaine,” Nick shoots back. “You can’t honestly tell me you think Sebastian would still be jealous of you. He barely touches you anymore.”

“But what about Kurt? He’s going to the trouble of letting me train him, it can’t be for nothing--”

“You can’t know that,” Nick says. “You know better than anyone--”

He cuts himself off as the door opens behind him. Jeff walks in, completely naked, and smiles at them.

“Ready to prep, babe?” he asks, raising his eyebrows at Nick.

“Coming,” Nick replies. He turns back to Blaine. “We’ll talk about this later. I know you’re old and wise, but you’re being stupid.”

“There’s nothing else to say, Nick,” Blaine says. “Go get ready.”

He turns and heads into his own room, his head swimming.

Kurt likes him.

Blaine can’t feel anything back. God, he wants to. He can clearly imagine himself with Kurt, feeding each other bites of food, curling up to watch movies, making love on nights off into the early hours of the morning, sleeping in each other’s arms, taking long baths and relaxing with each other. The only life they could have together--it seems so easy.

But Kurt is eight years younger than him. Kurt is beautiful, and pure, and perfect. Kurt is being trained to please their Master, a consideration that is unheard of from Sebastian. Kurt is special. Kurt is what Blaine used to be, and he can’t bear to see Kurt hurt in the way he was, _claimed_ in the way he was, when someone else dared to touch him.

Blaine can’t dare to touch Kurt. Blaine can’t _have_ him.

So he brushes off what Nick says. He preps himself quickly, he dresses, and he checks himself in the mirror. He applies a little eyeliner, and covers up the circles under his eyes. He focuses on his _job_.

He preps Jesse as well as he can before he heads out into the common room, with half an hour to spare before Sebastian’s banquet. The boys are dressed, all with the same style as Blaine--black and grey and white, fashionable variations on bondage, tight and revealing. Their hair is styled, their makeup is applied, and they all look like the expensive paragons of sexuality that they are.

Blaine deliberately doesn’t study Kurt for longer than the others, even though it’s hard. He looks like the definition of temptation in pants that hug his thighs and ass, tucked loosely into silver studded black combat boots, and nothing covering his torso but thin, shiny white suspenders. His eyes shine out from thick black eyeliner, and his hair is tousled like he’s just rolled out of an enthusiastically rumpled bed. Blaine notices that his bruise is well-covered by makeup, only the faintest discoloration visible. Sebastian won’t be able to resist him.

Blaine can barely do it himself, even though Kurt’s the only one whose pants he doesn’t have to slip a hand down.

“All right,” Blaine says when he’s finished checking them all, flinging the used latex glove into the garbage. “Let’s go.”

\--

Sebastian relaxes back onto the couch, swirling the wine in his glass before taking a deep pull. Kurt refills it when Sebastian holds it out, and in his makeup and artfully fetishized clothing, surrounded by the debauchery of Sebastian’s modern court, he’s a sinner’s Ganymede. He’s been the object of stares all evening, perched on the arm of Sebastian’s couch, his thigh constantly beneath Sebastian’s lightly brushing fingers. He’s like fruit, ripe on a branch just out of reach; there isn’t a single one of Sebastian friends who haven’t approached to see him closer, to get as near to him as possible despite their knowledge that he is not theirs to touch. He’s been the recipient of admiration all night, and Sebastian has been basking in the poorly masked envy.

Sebastian smirks at Kurt and squeezes his leg once he’s done pouring the wine, sipping at it lightly before turning to Blaine where he sits on the floor, one of Sebastian’s legs pressed against his side.

“How is the training going?”

Blaine has been expecting the question. But he never expected the response that flies from his mouth without a second thought.

“He’s mastered manual stimulation, Master,” Blaine says delicately. “I’m going to be teaching him oral skills starting tomorrow.”

Kurt immediately looks over at him, but thankfully keeps a straight face. Blaine carefully avoids meeting his gaze for more than a moment, and keeps his gaze locked on Sebastian, respectfully low. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Jesse, who is seated at the foot of the couch with Sebastian’s other foot in his lap, make a face.

“Well, why don’t we speed up his lessons?” Sebastian says suggestively.

Blaine almost panics. The whole point of his impulsive lie is to slow down the deadline, to give Kurt some more time. Now, Sebastian is implying--

“Jesse,” Sebastian says. “Come here, show him how it’s done.”

Blaine breathes a sigh of relief and sits passive and waiting as Jesse crawls up the couch, dutifully opening Sebastian’s pants and pulling them down just enough to free his hardening cock.

Kurt’s eyes go wide at the sight, but he watches obediently.

Blaine, on the other hand, glances around the room. It is always customary at Sebastian’s parties for dinner to end with some kind of sexual relief, open and shameless throughout the gathering. Sebastian is in clear view of the rest of the room, supine on his couch at the head of the room, and Jesse pulling his cock out into the open air and sinking over it acts as a sign to the rest of the room.

Most of the guests brought their own slaves, but Blaine looks to the ones that did not. Jeff and Nick are wrapped up with three other men, their limbs tangling and sliding as their movements become more debauched. On the other side of the room, Hunter lifts up the skirt of a tiny woman and buries his face between her legs, eagerly drawing high gasps from her lips as she grips his hair and presses him in.

Blaine turns back, satisfied that the boys are doing their jobs, and watches as Sebastian leans his head back against Kurt’s leg and reaches up to grip it with one hand, the other reaching along the back of the couch and clutching at the frame.

“Go ahead, Blaine,” Sebastian says unsteadily, falling apart under Jesse’s skilled mouth. “Teach.”

Blaine bites his lip and nods, shifting around to kneel facing the couch. He looks up at Kurt.

“Master, could I--”

“It’s your show,” Sebastian says, cutting him off and slapping the inside of Kurt’s thigh encouragingly. Kurt slips down and kneels next to Blaine when he beckons.

“Watch how Jesse takes him in,” Blaine says. “He relaxes his throat, covers his teeth, and bobs all the way down before sliding back up. Notice he sucks when he rises. He uses his tongue, too, you can see his mouth work around it when he does.”

“I see,” Kurt says, clearing his throat uncomfortably but watching closely.

“Guide him,” Sebastian orders, nodding down at Jesse. Blaine immediately lays his hands on Jesse’s head, pushing him into a quicker rhythm that he knows Sebastian would normally do himself.

But why do it himself when he has others to do it for him?

Blaine continues to push Jesse down, matching the pace at which Sebastian thrusts up. He turns to Kurt and nods him over.

“Put your hands next to mine,” he instructs. Kurt does as he’s told. “Feel how his head moves? How he rocks back and forth instead of just going straight up and down? He can go much deeper for just an instant that way. And notice that he breathes with the movement--he catches a breath in on the way up and breathes out to open his throat when he goes down. Feel it?”

“Yes,” Kurt says, nodding.

They stop talking, and the sounds of the room drift around them. Moans and cries and begging from a multitude of voices rise up in a licentious cacophony, mingling with the scent of sweat and come thickening in the room. Blaine can’t help but get a little caught up, his heart quickening with an excitement that is blunted only by an awareness that comes with familiarity.

But Kurt next to him seems more affected. His chest rises and falls rapidly, his lips parted slightly to pull in more breath. His fingers flex slightly in Jesse’s hair, his eyes locked on the movement of Sebastian’s cock sliding between stretched lips.

Sebastian notices.

“Go ahead,” he says, reaching out and gripping Kurt’s chin, lifting and turning it so that he can see the room out of the corner of his eye. “Take a look.”

Kurt’s hands fall from Jesse’s head as he shifts, his profile coming into Blaine’s line of view even as his torso turns away, his shifting back revealed, a flush growing down his neck and shoulders. His eyes widen, and his jaw drops, and his breath stutters as his senses are overcome with the sight and smell and sound of the entire room fucking.

“Good,” Sebastian encourages in a moan, his hand dropping from Kurt’s chin to stroke at his collarbone.

Blaine watches Kurt’s face. His eyes dart around like he can’t decide where to settle, and his cheeks burn--from what, Blaine can’t tell. Excitement, embarrassment, arousal, or that and more. All Blaine can see is that Kurt is falling into Sebastian’s libertine vortex, his body responding as the tension in the room struggles to a peak.

Seeing Kurt like that--it draws Blaine in more than anything else. And so, for the first time in ages, he feels himself getting entirely lost in the cheap passion swirling in the air.

He feels sweat on his brow, and the ropes of his outfit that circle his groin grow tight, and his lungs struggle to pull in air, and his entire body feels like it’s suddenly sensitive to everything. Jesse’s hair feels sharper beneath his fingers, the floor feels harder, the air is hotter, the rope is rougher. The way Kurt’s leg presses against his own sets him on fire, and he has to look away to contain himself.

When he does tear his eyes from Kurt, he catches Sebastian’s eye. Sebastian holds his gaze, grunts falling from his lips. Blaine recognizes the signs, and he pushes Jesse’s head down all the way. Sebastian grips the couch with one hand while the nails of the other drag along Kurt’s skin, but his stare never falters as he lets go and comes down Jesse’s throat.

He’s still looking into Blaine’s eyes when he grips Kurt’s chin again, pulling him up and in for a deep kiss.

Blaine snaps away as soon as Sebastian’s eyes shut, and the room comes back into focus. There are cries and groans sounding through the room, and Blaine can sense that the action is about to wind down. But he doesn’t turn to see--he resumes watching as Sebastian’s mouth covers Kurt’s, dominating for a moment until Kurt has the sense to kiss back.

Blaine averts his eyes when Sebastian pulls away, hanging his head and struggling to catch his breath and bring himself under control.

“Oh.”

Blaine flicks his eyes back up when he hears Kurt’s soft sigh. He’s looking at Sebastian’s lips, his brow furrowed, and Sebastian asks the question Blaine wants the answer to.

“What?”

Blaine notices Kurt’s eyes drifting to the side, and he holds his breath, hoping Kurt knows better than to look over at him. But his worry lasts for only a moment before Kurt pulls back up to look at Sebastian again.

“That was my first kiss,” Kurt says.

Blaine looks away again, only to catch Jesse watching him.

Shit. How much did he notice?

Blaine tries to play it off, raising his eyebrows faintly, as though in question. Jesse’s face remains stoic, but he turns his head and watches Sebastian instead. Blaine relaxes, pulling himself together with the assurance of Kurt’s lie and Jesse’s ignorance grounding him, even as he worries about what Sebastian saw.

He can only wait as Sebastian grabs his glass of wine and downs what’s left in the glass, holding it out for a refill as he watches the party die down around him.

\--

“I’m pleased with you,” Sebastian says, smiling around at his slaves assembled before him, the alcohol coursing through his blood putting him in a good mood, if his seemingly genuine delight is any indicator. “You did well tonight. Go get some sleep. Blaine, stay; you can join them in a minute.”

The boys file out, weary and most of them half-drunk, their clothes crumpled and messy where they’d been hastily thrown on after the guests had been carted away. Blaine watches them go, smiling when Kurt looks back just before slipping out with the rest.

“Blaine, come here.”

Blaine turns, smiling at Sebastian where he lazes on his couch. He approaches and starts to kneel before Sebastian like he usually does, but Sebastian stalls him.

“No, no,” he says, “up here. Come sit with me.”

Blaine is startled. He knows Sebastian is drunk and sated, and his mind may not be in entirely the state it normally is, but he’s never been on the couch with him unless he’s being fucked. He wonders briefly if that’s what Sebastian wants, even after being pleased by Jesse.

He sits down on the edge of the seat, his hips close to Sebastian’s. Sebastian reaches out and rubs a hand up and down Blaine’s arm. His head lolls on the armrest and he grins up at Blaine fondly.

“You look beautiful tonight, Blaine,” he hums. “My friends always wondered why I kept you when you got older but you’re only getting better with age. And you’re so good to me, you take care of my things so well.”

Blaine just continues to smile silently, wondering where this is going. He’s never seen Sebastian like this, not in his most liquor-soaked stupors. He’s never been this... _affectionate_.

“How is the training going? With...with Kurt. Tell me the truth. Will he be ready soon?”

“I’m afraid what I told you before was true, Master,” Blaine says, not the least bit ashamed of this lie, hoping his insistence will assuage any doubts Sebastian has. “Kurt is...adjusting. But he is progressing, and I’m sure we’ll be able to move onto more training soon enough.”

“Make it sooner,” Sebastian commands, his voice a little slurred. “I haven’t wanted someone so much since I first laid eyes on you, Blaine. There’s a reason you were my first slave...my first everything. You’ll always have that. But I want him like I wanted you.”

Blaine fights to keep his face neutral as he digests this. He’s filled with worry for Kurt, his firsthand knowledge of how Sebastian treats someone he wants badly rising from his memory.

_“We’re going to go to my rooms,”_ Sebastian whispers from his past. _“And you’re going to stay there with me until we can get that boy out of your memory, all right?”_

“Does that make you jealous?”

Blaine frowns as he tries to catch up with where Sebastian has taken the conversation from his brief visions of years ago. It is probably the last thing he expected, and now he’s not entirely sure how to respond. He knows that he took Sebastian’s virginity, over ten years ago--he didn’t know Sebastian though it was any kind of a big deal.

He bows his head and hopes he’s reading his master correctly.

“It is not my place to be jealous, Master,” he says. “You have done me great honor by keeping me for so long, and treating me so well. I can only be grateful for that.”

“I did keep you,” Sebastian mumbles. He looks exhausted--his eyes are drooping, and they have deep circles beneath them. “I never kept anyone else.”

“I know,” Blaine whispers, offering Sebastian a smile. It’s true, after all--Sebastian could have thrown him out at any time, but he kept Blaine despite the fact that, apparently, he faced criticism for it. And in a society where your friends’ opinions are thrown around like law, that’s a big deal.

It sets up a turmoil in Blaine. For all the things that are wrong about Sebastian and the way he treats people, he’s always been good to Blaine. Except for after he found out about Jeremiah--Blaine has never endured anything like that, before or since. And he’s cared for boys that have undergone similar experiences with Sebastian.

“Do you love me, Blaine?”

He can’t. There’s a reason he can’t forgive Sebastian. If he were simply his Master, if it hadn’t happened, if he hadn’t done it to more boys after Blaine, he could probably have loved Sebastian. He’s handsome, and generous with his boys, and usually he treats them better than most slave owners in the world. But Blaine knows firsthand just how cruel he can be when he’s provoked. And Blaine can’t love a man like that.

But he can lie, even if the dishonesty churns in his stomach like poison, threatening to rise up in bile and rage and hopelessness when he leans forward to kiss his owner, sealing his untruth.

“Of course I do, Master.”

Sebastian smiles, suddenly looking less tired.

“Good,” he says. “Then I know you’ll do this because you love me, right?”

“What would you like me to do, Master?”

Sebastian moves his hand from Blaine’s arm to his chest, running down the trail of hair there with questing fingers between the ropes. He grins at Blaine mischievously.

“I want you to make the boy want to learn faster,” he says. “I can see the way he looks at you. He has a crush on you. So do what you have to do to get him trained as fast as you can.”

Blaine can’t help himself; his can feel his eyes widen, and he stares at Sebastian incredulously.

“Don’t fuck him,” Sebastian amends. “Don’t...don’t give him anything. Because...I am the only one who gets to do that. Understand?”

_“Well, we’ll just have to remind you that you belong to me, body and soul.”_

Blaine’s heart falls a little. Sebastian hasn’t even used Kurt yet, and he’s already possessive. Poor Kurt might end up just like Blaine--alone, with only the false affection of a cruel master and a busy schedule to stave off the the loneliness.

Blaine tries not to think about the fact that he hasn’t felt alone since Kurt came. It’s a sealed deal, now--it can _never_ happen.

Sebastian has made sure of it.

“I understand, Master,” Blaine says. “I’ll do my best to ready him as quickly as possible.”

“My good boy,” Sebastian says, petting Blaine’s hair before dropping his hand away. “Don’t wake me up tomorrow morning. I’ll summon you.”

“Yes, Master.”

With that, Sebastian closes his eyes and drifts off right there on the couch.

Blaine waits for a moment to make sure he’s really asleep, and then signals to the guards standing by the door of the dining room. They know the drill--as soon as Blaine stands up to leave, they pick Sebastian up as gently as possible and head toward his room. He’ll have a hell of a hangover tomorrow morning, but everyone’s familiar with what happens when Sebastian holds a banquet. There will be water and plenty of hangover cures in the morning. For now, everyone but the house slaves cleaning up are heading to sleep and thanking Sebastian’s whims that they’ll get to sleep in a little.

Blaine doesn’t join them. He spends the night tossing and turning in his bed, sleep far from his reach


	6. Chapter 6

__

Sebastian was sprawled out on his couch, eating his breakfast leisurely. He popped a grape from his fruit salad in his mouth and glanced down at Blaine where he was seated by Sebastian’s feet.

__

_“You look pretty this morning,” Sebastian said. Blaine preened a little._

_“Thank you, Master,” he replied, offering Sebastian a wide grin. Sebastian smiled back, tilting his head and considering Blaine._

_“Why don’t you come over here? Closer to me?” he suggested. Blaine slid down toward the head of the couch, toward Sebastian’s beckoning hand. When he stopped, Sebastian sat up, bracketing Blaine with his long legs. Blaine shifted into a kneeling position and rose up, facing Sebastian, assuming he wanted to be serviced. But Sebastian stalled him by playing with his hair._

_“So pretty,” he murmured, and Blaine waited, peering up at Sebastian curiously. Sebastian just looked down at him, stroking his face and neck and hair, twirling the curls in his fingers._

_“Who would know that beneath that pretty face is a traitor.”_  
  
\--  
  
Blaine gasps as he wakes to a knock on his door.  
  
“Blaine?” Nick calls. “Blaine, one of the house slaves is here. Sebastian is summoning you.”  
  
Blaine sits up and rubs his eyes, waking slower than usual.  
  
“Blaine?” Nick knocks again, and Blaine winces.  
  
“I’m up,” he calls back. “I’m coming.”  
  
He rises and heads to the door, opening it and smiling sleepily at Nick.  
  
“Please let them know I’ll be out in a moment?” he says. “I just have to go brush my teeth and get presentable.”  
  
“Yeah, I’ll tell him,” Nick says, eyeing Blaine strangely. “You okay?”  
  
“I’m fine,” Blaine answers automatically. “Just groggy. I’ll be okay in a minute.”  
  
“Okay,” Nick replies uncertainly. “If you’re sure.”  
  
“I am. Thanks.”  
  
Blaine stumbles to the bathroom and gets himself ready as quickly as he can, quickly throwing some cover up under his eyes when he sees dark bags beneath them. No one in the house is at their best after last night, but it wouldn’t do to show up to Sebastian looking old and tired.  
  
He’d only gotten to sleep in the early hours of the morning, close to the time he normally wakes up, and he might as well have just stayed up. His dreams were full of dread, old and new, and he’d woken from a clear memory that he’d spent years trying to suppress. And he’d been largely successful.  
  
Until Kurt.  
  
But he can’t think about it now. Sebastian is waiting.  
  
\--  
  
Kurt is going to be the death of Blaine.  
  
And not just because of all the conflicting emotions that he elicits. Yes, Blaine has spent every night for the past week aching and hard and filled with the urge to run to the next room and fulfill all of his fantasies about pale skin and being the first to draw moans from Kurt’s pretty mouth. But beyond that, he’s also spent the past week holding off another with, Blaine is sure, the same fantasies.  
  
Sebastian has not been patient. Every day he asks for progress reports, and Blaine has been delaying him as much as possible. He’s lied every morning and every night, allowing Sebastian to believe that Kurt has gotten no further than learning how to give a blowjob.  
  
“What’s taking so long?” Sebastian asks one evening. He pushes away his dinner and sips at his wine, his frustration evident in his face.  
  
“The boy is delicate, Master,” Blaine blatantly lies. Kurt is the strongest person he’s ever met. “I’m afraid if we push he’ll be useless.”  
  
“Do you care about this boy?”  
  
Blaine freezes for only a moment.  
  
“I care about your property, Master,” he replies, keeping his eyes on the wine glass as he refills it. “It’s my duty.”  
  
He is met with silence. When he turns to look at Sebastian, he can see that he doesn’t entirely believe him.  
  
“Well,” Sebastian says, “if you care so much about my  _property_ , you will hurry him up. Otherwise, I might grow impatient and decide to take what I want and train him like the rest of them. Am I understood?”  
  
“Yes, Master,” Blaine says, unable to say anything else.  
  
Sebastian uses him that night, and Blaine feels like it’s a punishment. Sebastian is far too rough, bruising him with fingers and hip bones and leaving marks all over the back of his neck and shoulders. Just before he comes, Sebastian starts leaving handprints all over his ass, hitting him hard and quick and spilling deep as Blaine clenches around him in pain. The next day, he can barely walk for how sore he is, and he knows his time is running out.  
  
He might not be able to lie much longer.  
  
The truth is, Kurt  _has_ progressed, and at an alarming rate. He’s learned, with the aid of a pillow, the best techniques for frottage. And against his own fist, he’s mastered rimming. The only basic thing Blaine hasn’t accomplished is moving Kurt on to penetration--though not for lack of Kurt trying.  
  
It’s Kurt himself who has wanted to move at an even faster pace. Blaine isn’t entirely sure, but he suspects Kurt still just wants to get it all over with. That, and possibly the fact that Kurt has taken to the work.  
  
Blaine isn’t only tempted by their lessons.  
  
Every night he lies in his bed, completely incapable of blocking out the sounds on the other side of the wall. Every night, he hears breathy sighs and high moans, starting off slow and soft but growing louder and harder as time passes, and Blaine can hear it all. He can only lie there, Kurt’s voice piercing him, stirring things in Blaine he’d long buried, filling his head with fantasies that he could all too easily fulfill, if he were willing to risk everything.  
  
He is feeling too many things, allowing himself to spiral out of control. And he can’t afford to do it--not if he wants to keep himself and Kurt safe. He can’t let this go to the place it went with Jeremiah, no matter how much his body and his heart are telling him they want it. His mind remembers best what the consequences are, and he has to do his best to keep that in the forefront.  
  
But his mind is outnumbered, and it feels increasingly like a losing battle.  
  
If only Kurt wasn’t so... _perfect_ . Blaine was lost the moment the slave dealer dropped Kurt’s hood, but now that he knows Kurt, now that he’s Kurt’s friend and privy to all the wonderful things about Kurt, it seems to be only a matter of time. He can fight it with everything that he is, but everything that he is wants Kurt so badly. He can’t keep resisting, not without losing his mind.  
  
But he  _can’t_ .  
  
He knows the other boys notice something different about him. He is happy and peaceful whenever he’s around Kurt, but the moment he’s not he falls into brooding, scolding himself for being so besotted by someone when he knows better. He’s always tired, too--his duties to Sebastian continue, and then on top of that he’s been up late training Kurt and then listening in frustration and  agony as Kurt touches himself. And then half the night is wasted in self-hatred, and it repeats.  
  
And it’s only going to get worse.  
  
“I need to ask you something,” Kurt says one evening, sitting in the kitchen with Blaine and eating dinner. Kurt has taken to waiting for Blaine to eat, instead of starting before he gets back like the other sometimes do. Blaine appreciates the consideration, even if it makes everything so much harder.  
  
“Go ahead,” Blaine says, chewing a bite of cherry salmon and wiping some sauce from his lips.  
  
“Okay,” Kurt says, taking a breath that Blaine recognizes as him gathering up his courage. “I think that I am ready to...go further.”  
  
The phrasing hits Blaine strongly. In that moment, he can imagine a life where they met normally, and were free to love without the danger and restriction of slavery.   
  
They would’ve moved slowly--friends first, until they knew everything about each other, and then boyfriends. They’d take all the time they wanted to discover each other, until finally they became lovers, in their own time. And maybe Kurt would have said that, brought up that he wanted more of Blaine, to go all the way, to take that step together--  
  
“Blaine?”  
  
“Um, yeah,” Blaine says, snapping out of it. “I mean...if you’re ready, Kurt, we can start...talking about what comes next.”  
  
“I am ready,” Kurt says. “I know Sebastian isn’t going to wait forever. And...if I could have chosen, and lived a life where I could pick my own pace, I would’ve taken a lot longer. But this is my life now. And I can handle it.”  
  
And then Kurt looks up at him bluntly.  
  
“I saw you limping the other day,” he says. “Was it because of me?”  
  
Blaine tries to brush it off.  
  
“Sebastian was just enthusiastic,” he says. “Sometimes--”  
  
“Don’t lie to me,” Kurt snaps. “Did you forget that I see you naked all the time? It looked like he mauled you. I saw the handprints, and the bite marks. He never does that to any of the other guys.”  
  
“Kurt, you don’t have to do anything until you’re ready--”  
  
“That’s what I’m saying,” Kurt insists. “I am ready. I’m not going to sit around while Sebastian abuses you in my place.”  
  
“It shouldn’t be about that, Kurt,” Blaine protests. “I’m doing this so that you can go at your own pace--”  
  
“This is my pace, Blaine.” Kurt looks at him sternly. “If you don’t start training me on more, I’ll do it myself, and who knows, I might end up hurting myself. I’m so inexperienced, after all...”  
  
He trails off, and Blaine gapes at him.  
  
“You’re really playing that card?” he asks.  
  
Kurt shrugs and smirks, smug.  
  
“So?”  
  
Blaine sighs in defeat.  
  
“Fine. We’ll start after our bath.”  
  
Kurt smiles in triumph, rocking back and forth on his feet and pulling his lips into his mouth. Blaine rolls his eyes.  
  
“You don’t have to gloat.”  
  
They finish up their food and, after Blaine preps Jesse and sends him off to Sebastian, they head to the bathhouse, waving to Hunter, who is fixing his hair in one of the mirrors. Blaine is still shocked at how easily Kurt strips off and slips in, apparently learning to be unashamed of his body.  
  
They’re only there for a few minutes before Nick and Jeff join them, and it’s obvious from their sated smiles and languid touches what they’ve just finished doing.  
  
Hunter walks by just as Nick settles back into Jeff’s arms.  
  
“Could you two be any more disgusting?” he scoffs, not waiting for an answer as he strolls out of the room. Nick and Jeff roll their eyes almost in tandem, and Blaine laughs quietly at it.  
  
“Can I ask you guys a question?” Kurt says hesitantly.  
  
“Sure,” Jeff says. “You should know that Nick is a grower, so if you’re wondering if that’s the only reason why I’m with him, the answer is yes--”  
  
“No,” Kurt says, blushing and cutting him off as Nick elbows Jeff in the side. “I wanted to know--well...”  
  
“Go ahead, Kurt,” Nick says. “Jeff is shutting up now.”  
  
Jeff grins and nods, kissing Nick’s ear and looking at Kurt expectantly. Kurt seems to take heart from it.  
  
“Okay. You don’t have to answer this, but...I was wondering how you two...handle it,” Kurt says falteringly. “Doing what you do for Sebastian when you’re...together.”  
  
“You mean you want to know how we have a relationship when we have to fuck other people?” Jeff asks matter-of-factly. Kurt nods. “Honestly, it’s just the lifestyle. It takes some adjustment, but in this situation it’s just easiest to learn that love and sex don’t necessarily happen at the same time. With just us, they do, but if we’re with Sebastian or his friends...it’s just our bodies.”  
  
“Jealousy is a killer,” Nick adds. “I don’t actually  _like_ that we have this job to do, but it’s reality. I trust that Jeff still loves me, even though we have to be physically intimate with someone else. It’s not about that. People have open relationships all the time in the normal world, too, and if they can, we can.”  
  
“Plus it can be fun,” Jeff continues, squeezing Nick’s waist beneath the water. “Sometimes he calls us in at the same time. And you saw what it was like at the party. It’s not always bad, especially when we get to do it at the same time.”  
  
“But you still...enjoy it, sometimes?” Kurt asks. “When it’s just one of you?” When both of them nod, Kurt frowns. “And that’s okay with you? That you...do that?”  
  
Jeff shrugs. “Like I said. It’s the lifestyle. Most of the time Sebastian doesn’t care if we come or not when we’re with him, so it’s simple enough to just hold off and wait till we’re together again to take care of any...excitement.”  
  
“I just don’t know how you could do it,” Kurt says honestly, shrugging and leaning back against the wall of the bath.  
  
“It takes getting used to,” Nick says. “It’s not always easy. But it’s the price we pay to be together. If you loved someone, wouldn’t you do what you could to be with them? Even if the situation wasn’t perfect?”  
  
Blaine refuses to look at Kurt’s reaction. He keeps looking at Nick and Jeff, at how simple and easy they are with each other, how relaxed and happy. And he ignores it when Jeff drags his eyes over to him from Kurt, as though he’s following Kurt’s gaze.  
  
No. Blaine won’t look.  
  
“Well, thanks for being honest,” Kurt says. “I’m pruning; I’m gonna get out.”  
  
Blaine turns and watches as Kurt slips out of the tub, water streaming down his pale body as he pads over to the towels and wraps one around himself, not even bothering to cover with a robe before he starts drying off and heading toward his room.  
  
“You do like him.”  
  
Blaine closes his eyes and shakes his head, biting his lip.  
  
“Nick, drop it,” he says.  
  
“No,” Nick shoots back. “Not a chance. Look, I’m not dumb, okay? We all know you’re the one keeping Kurt away from Sebastian, and we all saw what he did to you for it. You’ve never gone that far for anybody before.”  
  
“I know, I’m sorry--”  
  
“No, don’t apologize,” Nick says. “Nobody expects you to take the fall for us. We’d never ask that. And everyone knows that you shouldn’t, because this life is about survival, and you do what you have to. But you’re volunteering to get hurt for him. That’s not just a little bit of a crush, Blaine.”  
  
“And what do you want me to do, Nick?” Blaine throws his hands up and shrugs. “Do you want me to be with him? I already have orders from Sebastian not to touch him. And I’m pretty sure I got punished because Sebastian thinks I care about him. He’s jealous of him already, and I’d be putting us in an impossible situation if I even looked at him differently.”  
  
“What else are you going to do?” Jeff cuts in. “Are you going to sit back? Just...watch, forever? Are you gonna let Sebastian take something that could make you happy?”  
  
“I’m not gonna risk getting sold or killed and having Kurt go through what I did with Jeremiah--”  
  
“This is totally different, Blaine.”  
  
“How?”  
  
“You’re not Jeremiah,” Jeff says. “And Kurt isn’t you.”  
  
“But Sebastian is still...possessive,” Blaine replies. “He actually told me I wasn’t allowed to fuck him.”  
  
“Well, you know what’s going to happen, then?” Nick asks. “You’re going to keep doing your duty. Every single day, the same thing, over and over. Except then you’ll have to watch Kurt with Sebastian. And he’ll have to watch you. And you’ll stay friends, and you’ll support each other, but you’ll always wish you could have more. And then one of you will get sold, and you’ll never have the chance again.”  
  
Blaine opens his mouth to protest, but Nick cuts him off.  
  
“No, you know it’s true. You don’t think we think about the same thing?” He clutches at Jeff’s arms, strong around him. “When will Sebastian get tired of us? You really think he’s going to sell us to the same place when he does? Or at the same time? You think we don’t know that? We do. But we’re together anyway because for today, we can have it all. Everything we need to make us happy. Because we can have each other.”  
  
He glares at Blaine, and Blaine suddenly feels very small.  
  
“You really think you can deny that to yourself? To Kurt? If you two want to be together, fuck Sebastian. You deserve to have this one thing for yourself.”  
  
“There are too many reasons I can’t, Nick,” Blaine says sadly. “I can’t risk it. And besides, I can’t take advantage of him. I’m his mentor, I’m so much older than he is--”  
  
“What does that matter?”  
  
“--and he trusts me,” Blaine continues. “He trusts me to keep him safe. That’s what I’m going to do. Being with him--no matter how much I wish it could happen, going for it would not be keeping him safe. If we got caught...Nick, you have no idea what the consequences would be.”  
  
“What did Sebastian do to you?” Nick asks. “I know about Jeremiah getting whipped and sold and I know he punished you, but what did he do?”  
  
“It doesn’t matter,” Blaine says with finality, “because it’s not going to happen again.”  
  
He turns and gets out of the bath, ignoring Nick calling after him as he leaves the room without another word.  
  
\--  
  
 _“You know what I’m talking about, Blaine,” Sebastian said. He tilted Blaine’s chin up with two fingers. “I know what you have been doing with this...thing. This piece of property. Why would you do that, my pretty?”_

_Blaine blinked a few times, swallowing. He had to think fast. But Sebastian beat him to it._

_“Do you love me, Blaine?”_  
  
\--  
  
Blaine makes sure to knock extra loud on Kurt’s door once he’s dried and dressed for bed, adding a shirt to his usual bedtime outfit as an extra layer of protection--and if he’s being honest with himself, it’s not for Kurt at all this time.  
  
Kurt opens the door in nothing but a pair of briefs.  
  
“Come in,” he says, stepping aside and shutting the door behind Blaine once he’s in. “So...what’s the plan?”  
  
Blaine turns to Kurt and looks at him seriously.  
  
“First, I need to make sure that you’re absolutely certain about this,” Blaine says. “I need to know if you’re just doing this because you’re worried about me, or about Sebastian, because if that’s the reason you’re pushing to go faster, it’s not worth it. It’ll only hurt you in the end.”  
  
“Blaine, I’m a lot tougher than I look,” Kurt says evenly. “I don’t like being a slave. I don’t like how it happened. I don’t like that I have to basically give up my dreams of a perfect fairytale romance. But there is no point in fighting this anymore. I want to do my best to live my life and not have this hanging over my head. So please. Stop making a big deal of it when I’m trying my best to move on and deal with it.”  
  
He looks completely sure, and he has every right to feel the way he does. Blaine doesn’t have any more excuses.  
  
“Okay,” he says. “Then we’re going to start by letting you finger yourself, and we’ll have you wear the smallest plug for an hour. But that’s it for tonight, okay? We’ll move up to the next plug when we’re sure you’re okay with this one.”  
  
“Okay,” Kurt agrees. “So...should I just--how should I do this?”  
  
“It’ll be most comfortable on all fours, most likely,” Blaine says. “At least at first. You can figure out what’s best for you when you’ve tried it out a few times, but generally speaking, hands and knees is best.”  
  
“And I just...go on in?”  
  
“No,” Blaine says. “Have you ever touched yourself there before?”  
  
“Only a little,” Kurt admits, blushing. “And only since you suggested it that first night.”  
  
Blaine nods, clearing his throat as he tries not to think that he’s the cause of Kurt touching his own ass. There’s work to be done, he can’t get distracted right now.  
  
“That’s a good place to start,” Blaine suggests. “After that, when you’re relaxed, you can try slipping your finger in just a little bit, and then you just keep going, as long as you’re comfortable. You should probably keep it to one finger tonight, two at most--and make sure you use lots of lube.”  
  
“Are you--are you leaving?”  
  
“I was going to,” Blaine says. “It’s...I mean, it’s kind of intense, and I didn’t know if you’d want--”  
  
“It’s not like you haven’t been around me doing intimate things before,” Kurt reasons, in an overly formal tone that gives away his nervousness. “And you will be again. Besides, I think it might be best if you can be here for...any questions I might have. Just in case.”  
  
Blaine takes a deep breath, biting his lips as he considers. The only problem he has with Kurt’s request comes from his own desire to stay. It’s probably not the best idea because of it. But Kurt’s right, he might have questions--it’s not like Kurt’s had time to research or anything. Blaine’s his only source, and Blaine will have to do it for him one day.  
  
“Of course I’ll stay,” he says finally. “If that’s what you want.”  
  
“Please.”  
  
Blaine can’t say no to that.  
  
“Um, so if you want to...to get ready,” Blaine says. He walks over to Kurt’s bedside table and pulls out the drawer, removing the items he’ll need. “There’s lube, and wipes, and...you have your box, right?”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
Blaine turns around and sees Kurt stepping out of his briefs, and folding them up. He quickly turns back around.  
  
“Sorry,” he says. “I’ll wait, if you--”  
  
“Didn’t you tell me it was okay to look at you once?” Kurt asks, a tiny laugh in his voice. “It happens, Blaine. It doesn’t have to be awkward.”  
  
“I’m sorry, Kurt,” Blaine says, turning around. Kurt is sitting on the edge of his bed, totally naked, looking up at Blaine openly. “I didn’t mean to make you feel weird. I was just trying to give you what privacy I could.”  
  
“I might as well get used to this,” Kurt says frankly, and Blaine smiles at him.  
  
“You just let me know if you get uncomfortable with anything, okay?”  
  
“I am perfectly capable of speaking up, Blaine.”  
  
“Of course you are,” Blaine agrees. “So what would you like me to do? Do you just want me to sit and watch and help as you need me, or...?”  
  
“That works,” Kurt says. “Just...can you talk me through it? Like you did before?”  
  
“Yeah,” Blaine says. He sits down in the desk chair, hunching down and leaning his elbows on his knees, his hands fiddling a little between them as he watches Kurt kneel on the bed, facing his pillows.  
  
“Okay,” Kurt breathes, grabbing the lube and uncapping it. Blaine notices that just a little bit is gone from the bottle--he’s been using it.  
  
 _Don’t think about it._  
  
“Use plenty,” Blaine reminds. “Don’t worry about messing up the sheets--we can grab a house slave before bedtime to change them.”  
  
Kurt nods, applying plenty of lube to his fingers, spreading it between them with little rubbing movements before reaching back and uncertainly rubbing them between his cheeks.  
  
“Get as comfortable as you can,” Blaine says, and Kurt fumbles around for a minute before he ends up leaning down on his elbow, his forehead resting on his forearm, his back bowed and his ass tilted high as his hand moves slowly behind him.  
  
Blaine shifts the chair so he can see better, his entire body tightening at the sight of Kurt spreading his legs more, one shiny finger circling his rim.  
  
“How does it feel?”  
  
“Good,” Kurt grunts, pressing in just a little with the tip of his finger. Blaine watches as a shudder runs through Kurt, his hips twitching forward just a little bit with the pressure.  
  
“Just relax,” Blaine whispers soothingly, his eyes glued to Kurt’s gentle ministrations. “Keep touching, let it feel good.”  
  
It must feel good. As Blaine watches, Kurt’s cock swells and fills until it’s hanging heavy between his legs, flushed red and run with veins. Blaine tries and fails not to stare at it and imagine it spreading him, filling him--  
  
“Ah!”  
  
Blaine can only be glad that Kurt’s face is buried and not looking at him when Kurt cries out, because his own hips buck in sympathy when Kurt slips his finger inside himself, his back bowing harder, a flexible curve that sends his cock bobbing below him as he raises his hips, seeking more from his fingers. Blaine bites his lips against the noises his throat is straining to make as he watches, his hands shaking with the need to  _touch_ .  
  
“Good,” Blaine says, when Kurt starts moving the finger in and out, just a little bit, and he’s sure he can speak without it coming out as a moan. “Go deeper little by little. Let yourself take it.”  
  
Kurt is panting, his skin flushed and sweating by the time he’s plunging the finger in and out freely, and Blaine is almost afraid to stay with the way his body is reacting. His pajama pants are completely tented out, his cock harder than he remembers it being in a long time, and he periodically has to press the heel of his hand into it to keep himself in a semblance of calm.  
  
“How--” Kurt begins, cutting off in a tight moan before he gathers himself enough to continue. “How can I find my...my prostate?”  
  
“Crook your finger toward your belly button when you pull out,” Blaine says. “It shouldn’t be too far in, and you’ll feel--”  
  
“Oh, fuck.”  
  
“--that,” Blaine finishes, breathless as Kurt strokes in again at the same angle, his lips releasing sweet cries that pierce Blaine’s armor like nothing else he’s ever experienced.  
  
“When--when do you want to put the plug in?” Kurt asks unsteadily, slowing his finger but not stopping as he presses his face harder into his arm, his shoulders tensed.  
  
“Are you ready?” Blaine asks. Kurt nods shakily. “Do you want me to do it?”  
  
At another nod, Blaine stands up, tucking his cock into his waistband as well as he can and pulling his shirt down. It’s not perfect--the bulge is still very clear, but it’s not sticking out like a salute to Kurt’s desirability. He grabs the plug from the box and coats it in lube.  
  
“Okay,” he says gently. “Take out your finger.  _Slowly_. ”  
  
Kurt does as he’s told, groaning as his finger pulls out. Blaine watches a little too closely at the way his hole clenches around nothing, waiting for something to fill it again.  
  
 _Don’t think about it._  
  
He places his free hand on Kurt’s flank, gently petting it in a comforting gesture.  
  
“I’m going to put the plug in, okay?” Blaine says. “It’s about the same width as your finger, so it’s not that big. I’ll take it slow.”  
  
He rubs the tip of it around Kurt’s pucker, the quake of Kurt’s muscles vibrating beneath his steadying hand. He tries to keep it still and firm, but he’s sure he’s quivering in tandem, far too drawn by the way Kurt arches and pushes back, eager for the plug to penetrate him, his cock dripping onto the bed, his balls drawing up tight.  
  
“Here we go,” Blaine rasps, hoping Kurt doesn’t notice his tone, as he slips the plug in gently.  
  
Kurt takes it readily, bearing down onto it until it’s all the way in, his rim closing around the little flare at the end, the shining black and glittering colors of the base stark between his flushed cheeks.  
  
“Does it feel okay?”  
  
“Yes,” Kurt says, his voice eerily calm.  
  
Blaine looks over to see if he’s okay.  
  
Kurt is looking at him. His head is lifted just enough to turn, and his eyes are locked on the straining of his cock against the soft fabric of his pants.  
  
“I’m sorry,” Blaine says immediately. He draws back, leaving the plug safely inside Kurt as he stumbles back. “I’m...I’m really sorry, Kurt. I’ll see you tomorrow.”  
  
Blaine ignores Kurt calling his name as he flees, locking himself in his room and almost ripping his hair out in frustration as he paces the room, begging his body and his heart to stop yearning for Kurt so desperately.


	7. Chapter 7

Things have been strange between Kurt and Blaine since the night Kurt saw his reaction. Kurt keeps pressing Blaine to talk about it.  
  
“Blaine, what’s going on?” Kurt asks him one night, just after dinner. Blaine continues walking to the bathhouse, heading toward the showers rather than the bath like he’s done since Kurt caught his unfortunate response.  
  
“What do you mean?” Blaine responds casually. Kurt immediately looks unimpressed.  
  
“I am not stupid, Blaine,” Kurt spits, frowning angrily. “I can tell something’s up. You hardly speak to me anymore, you hide from the others, you won’t even bathe or eat with us anymore. And you look like you’ve been spending every night literally punching yourself in the face. What’s going on?”  
  
“Nothing’s going on, Kurt,” Blaine insists. “I’m just feeling under the weather--”  
  
“You can lie to Sebastian all you want,” Kurt says, suddenly cold, and it’s all Blaine can do not to crumble under the force of the glare Kurt sends down his nose. “But you can’t lie to me. I’m really disappointed in you.”  
  
He leaves Blaine alone after that. Completely alone.  
  
It might be better this way. It might be the only way to remain professional until it’s all done, so he continues with it, keeping distant and as cool as possible every night as he watches Kurt finger himself open for the plugs.  
  
He’s taken to wearing the most constricting underwear he can, and he half-wonders if he should ask Sebastian to buy him a chastity cage. If he wasn’t sure Sebastian would use it against him for his own amusement, Blaine might even have done it. But instead, he does his best to focus on the task at hand before he inevitably runs away and leaves Kurt to remove the plug himself every night. It’s against his duties as the head slave and Kurt’s mentor, but he can’t handle staying there and watching as Kurt lays there, hard and wanting, and he can’t handle coming back to find Kurt sated and loose, either.  
  
He’s not sure he can handle Kurt at all, anymore. But he doesn’t have much of a choice.  
  
\--  
  
“You look tired,” Sebastian says, walking into the bathroom four days later, his cock still wet from Jeff’s mouth.   
  
Blaine bows his head.  
  
“I’m fine, Master,” Blaine replies.  
  
“I’m hoping this means the training is progressing,” Sebastian says, his raised eyebrow clearly indicating a hook.  
  
“Yes, Master,” Blaine says. “We’ve managed to start using his plugs to get him used to penetration. He is using the smallest for now, and we’ll be moving up tonight. He should be ready soon.”  
  
He pushes down every instinct that screams at him to do more to protect Kurt, to draw it out further. Kurt took the largest plug last night, and requested to use the dildo tonight, so he’s still lying to Sebastian. But part of him still feels like it’s not enough, that he can still keep Kurt away for a little longer.  
  
He can’t, though. Not after Kurt caught him the other night. His objectivity is completely compromised, and he can’t cling to Kurt like this anymore. Kurt is ready--it’s Blaine who isn’t. But it’s not about him, not about what he wants.  
  
He can’t have what he wants.  He needs to stop acting like he can.  
  
“Good,” Sebastian says. “Do what you can to make it happen. You’ll be excused of your duties as a bed slave until he comes to me, and in return I expect the schedule to move as quickly as possible.”  
  
“Yes, Master,” Blaine agrees simply, his head and his heart hanging low.  
  
\--  
  
He drifts through the day, ignoring everyone. All the pretending is taking its toll. Sebastian and Kurt aren’t the only ones who notice, but Blaine continues to brush off all inquiries as to why he looks tired and slumped and sick, why he’s dragging and listless and morose.  
  
He isn’t sure the last time he slept a full night since he fell asleep with Kurt in his arms. Maybe he hasn’t.  
  
Kurt is waiting for him that evening after he preps Hunter for Sebastian. He sits, proper and straight, on the couch, hands folded in his lap, looking like a penitent sinner about to confess, his cheeks pleasantly blushed as he looks up at Blaine.  
  
“I’m ready,” he says simply. Blaine, who would have fought a few days ago, just nods. He’s tired--maybe if they get it over with, he’ll be able to get Kurt out of his mind.  
  
He’s not even fooling himself.  
  
When they get to Kurt’s room, he takes the chair and settles it facing away from Kurt, at a blank stretch of wall next to the desk. Kurt looks at it pointedly before tilting his head at Blaine questioningly.  
  
“I’m going to let you have some privacy for this,” Blaine explains flatly. “It’s intense, and you should be comfortable for it. If I’m staring at you, you can’t have that. I’ll leave once you’re used to it, and if you don’t have any questions.”  
  
His tone brooks no disagreement, so Kurt just nods meekly and starts to undress. Blaine sits himself in the chair stiffly and stares at the wall, hoping that its blankness will seep into him and allow him to mimic it--smooth, cool, white, unblemished. But his heart stays stubbornly red, hot, beating, hurt.  
  
“Go ahead and open yourself up,” he instructs.  
  
He waits and listens as Kurt obeys, gasps and grunts floating to Blaine’s ears, tormenting his imagination with what could be happening behind him. Kurt laying back, arms between his wide-spread thighs, stretched down to feel himself as deeply as he can, head thrown back and eyes clenched against the feeling, chest heaving and sweating and--  
  
Blaine remains steadfast, his breath carefully even.  
  
“I’m...I’m open,” Kurt stammers, after several long minutes.  
  
“Put plenty of lube on the dildo,” Blaine says, “and then pick whatever position is most comfortable for you.”  
  
Blaine had given him a basic rundown of common positions Sebastian likes a few days ago, the conversation stilted and uneasy, but at least he doesn’t have to go over it now, when he’s feeling scraped raw by everything that’s happened, everything that’s happening. It would only be salt now, grinding and stinging in the wounds that Kurt leaves with every smile and glance, that Blaine only tears open afresh every night in his helpless imaginings.  
  
“Okay,” Kurt says. “I’ll...I’m going to...take it now.”  
  
Blaine just nods, sharply, and strains to hear what’s happening, stubbornly refusing to turn around.  
  
“Oh--oh god,” Kurt hisses, his breath coming out choppy and short.  
  
“Relax,” Blaine says, his concern finally overwhelming his reserve when he realizes that Kurt must be in some pain. It’s the most he’s ever taken, after all, and he can’t be feeling good about how Blaine has been acting. As much as Blaine wants to curl away from his own pain, he can’t let Kurt endure even the least suffering if he can prevent it. And he knows he’s been causing some of it himself with his sudden and recent shift from gregarious to taciturn.  
  
Blaine immediately starts beating himself up in his head, but he does his best to sound soothing.  
  
“I know it’s a lot,” he continues. “But you can take it. It’ll feel good soon, I promise. Just go at your own pace. There’s no hurry here.”  
  
“Okay,” Kurt says, his voice wavering. He takes some deep, sucking breaths, and then lets out a deep moan.  
  
“Feeling better?” Blaine asks after a moment of quiet, Kurt’s heavy breathing and his movement on the bed seeming so loud in the silence.  
  
“Y-yes,” Kurt stutters. “It...it feels good.”  
  
Blaine nods and shifts forward, ready to stand and walk out, leaving Kurt to it, but Kurt’s voice stops him.  
  
“Stay,” he pleads. “Please, Blaine. I’m...I’m still...I don’t know if I can--”  
  
“Of course,” Blaine says automatically, settling back down onto the chair. He crosses his arms, an unconscious move to protect himself, his leg bouncing with his nerves. How is he going to sit here and listen to Kurt doing this and remain distant when all he wants is to take Kurt in his arms and show him firsthand how perfect sex can be?  
  
And maybe Kurt can show him, too. He’s never had it for himself. He knows the stories, and he almost, _almost_ had it with Jeremiah, but he doesn’t _know_. It wasn’t life-changing, it wasn’t _enough_. Being with Kurt could be like coming alive, he _knows_ it. And he wants it so  bad and he can’t have it--  
  
“Blaine?” Kurt says questingly, thin and strained.  
  
“Yeah,” Blaine replies. His voice is quiet, drawn, reflecting the way his very soul feels at the desolation of wanting to love Kurt so desperately and being completely unable.  
  
He’s inches away. _Inches_.  
  
“I think of you.”  
  
Blaine freezes. He wouldn’t be surprised if his breath clouded before him, for how cold his blood runs, how still he sits. But he’s not even sure he’s breathing.  
  
“Whenever I do this,” Kurt continues, his breath hitching and sighing through his wonderful, terrible words. “I think of you. Every day and every night, you’re all I think about. I think about how you look, and the way your hands feel. I think about how you kissed me. I think about being able to do it all the time, just walk up and kiss you when you’re playing piano or making us lunch or playing in the water. I just want it so much. And I know you think about me, too.”  
  
Blaine immediately shakes his head, but Kurt cuts him off.  
  
“No, you can’t lie to me,” Kurt says, begging rather than forceful. “Don’t do it. I know you do. I’ve heard you say my name, I _know_. And I know how you look at me. I know what it is because it’s _exactly_ how I’m feeling.”  
  
Blaine keeps shaking his head, his resolve cracking with every word. Why is Kurt _doing_ this to him, doesn’t he understand? Doesn’t he know that he’s chipping away at a dam that will flood over if he doesn’t just _stop_?  
  
“I’m looking back, Blaine,” Kurt all but sobs. “I don’t want Sebastian to be the first person I do this with. I want you. It’s always been you.”  
  
Blaine holds himself tighter, fingers digging into his own arms as he bends over, trying to catch his breath. If he can just _breathe_ , if he could just goddamn breathe--  
  
“No,” he gasps. “It can’t happen, it can’t--”  
  
“Please, Blaine--”  
  
“No, you don’t understand, I can’t do this--”  
  
“Blaine--”  
  
“No, no, please--”  
  
“Don’t let him take this from me!” Kurt cries. “I want it to be you. Please don’t let him have this.”  
  
Blaine can’t do it anymore. He can’t resist. It feels like his skin and muscle and blood and bone are fighting to go to Kurt, fighting against everything he knows he shouldn’t do, and logic is losing out.  
  
He turns around in the chair, one hand gripping the back of it as he prepares to ruin himself, one way or another.  
  
Kurt is kneeling upright on the bed, facing him fully. One hand stretches behind himself, holding the dildo firm as he rides it unsteadily, his thighs shaking. His other hand is clenched in his own hair, a spiky, sweaty mess, his head back and his throat long and straining. He looks at Blaine with hooded eyes, his mouth open and lips trembling.  
  
“Please,” he says, his eyes boring into Blaine’s, open and vulnerable and shining.  
  
Blaine gives in.  
  
He rises from the chair, and Kurt sobs in relief as he takes two strides to the bed. He grips Kurt’s waist with both hands and pulls him off the dildo, tossing him onto his back. Kurt throws the dildo aside carelessly and wraps his hands around Blaine’s neck and into his hair, pulling him down for a searching kiss.  
  
Blaine kneels over him, his arms winding around Kurt’s shoulders and holding him up as he deepens the kiss, opening his mouth and letting Kurt’s tongue run along his own, sucking and nipping and licking at each other’s lips with no restraint. Kurt’s lack of experience shows, but it’s the most beautiful thing Blaine has felt, this trust and willingness for Blaine to _show_ him, to teach him everything the way he deserves to be taught, not in the cold, clinical way he’s faced thus far.  
  
Kurt can teach him the right way, too. They can learn together.  
  
Blaine sheds his clothes, his mouth struggling to stay attached to Kurt’s. Now that he’s given in, he wants it _all_ , he wants the casual touches and the kisses and the love like Nick and Jeff share. He wants that everyday span of moments that tie together everything and make it all worthwhile. He wants to hug and kiss and cuddle and smile and play and joke and caress and hold hands and enjoy life together, in the big picture and the small, the long term and the short. He wants _everything_ with a fire that scares him for its intensity.  
  
And god, does he want this. He groans into Kurt’s lips and reaches over blindly to grab the lube, pouring some quickly into his hand and stroking it over his cock. He whimpers into Kurt’s mouth at the feeling before he pulls back and looks down, lining up and circling Kurt’s hole with his cock.  
  
“Yes, yes,” Kurt pants, arching his back, his head pressing back into the pillow. Blaine knows how he feels--that all-consuming sensation of _finally_.  
  
Blaine’s mouth falls open with a gust of air at how good it feels to push in. It’s like nothing he’s ever imagined, being inside someone else’s body, inside _Kurt_ , tight and hot and _perfect_ around him. He slides in slowly until his hips are pressed to Kurt’s thighs, spread wide and wrapping around his waist as he leans back down to claim Kurt’s mouth again.  
  
“Blaine,” Kurt says, eyes locking with Blaine’s as Blaine starts to move, slow and gentle, his hands reaching up to cup Kurt’s face, his thumbs stroking at Kurt’s cheeks, wiping away tears. “Blaine, I have to tell you something.”  
  
“Anything,” Blaine says, closing his eyes and kissing all over Kurt’s face. “Mmm, anything, Kurt.”  
  
“I--I love you,” Kurt whines, arms and legs tightening around Blaine, pulling him in harder, body and soul. “I love you, I do, I’m so in love with you, Blaine--”  
  
“Oh, god, Kurt,” Blaine chokes. Here, in this moment, he has a choice. He can tell Kurt everything--tell Kurt that he’s in love with him, tell him that they are risking far more than a beating from Sebastian, tell him that he’s fought as hard as he can but Kurt still destroys his every attempt. Or he can deny it, hold onto that last piece of armor, protect them just a little longer despite the inevitability of giving in to Kurt completely.  
  
He looks into Kurt’s eyes and lets himself feel what he can’t say, his eyes filling with tears of frustration and longing. “I do--I just, I can’t--”  
  
“Shh,” Kurt soothes, petting Blaine’s hair as Blaine buries his face in Kurt’s neck, sobbing desperately, his tears soaking into Kurt’s skin. He hopes that they can carry the message that he can’t make his voice form, seep into Kurt’s blood and course through him so that the words whisper to him with every beat.  
  
He mouths at every bit of skin his lips can reach as his hips snap forward faster, burying himself again and again inside of Kurt. Their sweat mingles with every drag, and Blaine’s hands searching for the perfect angle, the perfect grasp, the perfect moment together, closer and closer with every tightening of the coil in his core.  
  
Kurt’s cries get louder and louder, and soon enough Blaine has to place his fingers over Kurt’s lips, hushing him and kissing him between them. There are rooms between them and the others, but they could always be caught, and Blaine won’t let go of this now.  
  
“I know,” he whispers, kissing Kurt’s jaw. “I know, baby--”  
  
“I’m so close,” Kurt says, his voice squeaking with how hard he’s holding back, and Blaine’s body heats when he sees the shock in Kurt’s eyes. It’s heady as it shoots through him, the realization that he’s giving Kurt pleasure he’s never known in his life, that _he’s_ making Kurt fall apart like this for the first time. Not Sebastian. Not some lost dream of a perfect romance. _Him_. Blaine. And the rush of it fills his body like fire when Kurt clenches around him, his cock shooting white and hot between their tightly pressed bodies.  
  
It’s Kurt, perfect Kurt, who sends him over with a kiss and murmur, three words that are too soon and not soon enough, that are a precious treasure between them, secret and silent and sacred. He thrusts in completely, spilling as deep as he can, claiming, his mouth open in a silent cry against the sweat of Kurt’s throat.   
  
Kurt’s all he tastes as he comes down, all he smells and hears and sees and feels. Kurt, Kurt, Kurt.  
  
\--  
  
 _“Do you love anyone else?”_

_Even though he did love Jeremiah, he had to pretend he didn’t. It might hurt, but there was no other way--they were caught. He took a deep breath._

_“No, Master.”_

_Jeremiah whimpered behind him, and the sound cracked something in Blaine as Sebastian petted his hair again, playing with a curl between his fingers. He nodded absently, studying Blaine’s face, twirling and twirling his lock of hair, tightening his hold on it and twisting. It pulled tight against his head and he winced faintly._

_“Then you must have been mistaken, last night in the bathhouse,” Sebastian said carelessly. “You lost yourself in the heat of the moment, perhaps? I do know this slave’s skill with his mouth, and you were preoccupied. People do say things they don’t mean when they’re...in extremis. Isn’t that right?”_

_Blaine’s eyes teared as Sebastian tugged the hair he was gripping. He swore he could hear the roots tearing from his scalp._

_“I--Master, it...it meant nothing,” he blurted out. He heard Jeremiah gasp, but he went on. “I was...receiving pleasure. Nothing more. I didn’t even know I’d said that until you told me.”_

_His tears fell freely, though Sebastian had let go of his hair._   
  
\--   
  
Blaine shudders awake, momentarily lost in the memory until he realizes where he is. Kurt is nestled in his arms, sweaty and sticky and too warm, but it’s everything Blaine has ever wanted.   
  
He’ll never be able to let it go for good. Now that he knows, now that he’s let himself feel, now that he and Kurt have lost themselves to one another, he can’t go back. He wasn’t living before this. He can’t let slip away the only life he has.   
  
But he has to let go of it for tonight.   
  
He lays a kiss on Kurt’s forehead, bringing him out of his doze. He smiles up at Blaine sleepily, humming.   
  
“Hi,” he says.   
  
“Hi,” Blaine laughs. “I have to go back to my room.”   
  
“Nooo,” Kurt complains, clinging tighter to Blaine. Blaine’s heart swells and he grins like a fool.   
  
This is worth it. Every pain--he’ll take it all, if he can have this. Because this is happiness. Fleeting, trembling happiness, fragile and precious. This-- _Kurt_ \--is what he’s risking everything for.   
  
“I have to,” he says, “so we’ll be able to do this again. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”   
  
“Okay,” Kurt sighs, allowing Blaine to slip out of his arms..   
  
“I’ll see you in the morning,” Blaine whispers, kissing him as sweetly as he can before he dresses and sneaks out.   
  
“Wait,” he hears, just as he’s going to shut Kurt’s door.   
  
Kurt looks around behind him quickly before kissing him firmly. Blaine smiles against his lips and allows it, completely charmed by Kurt’s eagerness and the softness of his touch.   
  
“Sorry,” Kurt says breathlessly, pulling back. “You can go now.”   
  
Blaine laughs at the dismissal, barely a breath from his lips as he grins and grins and grins.   
  
“Good night, Kurt,” he whispers, drawing his hands away with a last lingering touch, half-hoping that it tingles on Kurt’s skin all night, staying with him where Blaine cannot.   
  
“I love you,” Kurt mouths, smile wide and joyous like nothing Blaine’s seen. Blaine returns it before backing away and hurrying into his own room, collapsing on the bed and falling asleep with one hand on the wall separating him from his perfect boy.   
  
\--   
  
Jesse steps back out of the bathhouse, raising an eyebrow at Kurt’s now-shut door.   
  
Interesting.


	8. Chapter 8

Blaine falls back on the pillows, panting for breath, sweat cooling over his body. Kurt holds himself up for another moment before he releases Blaine’s legs and lets them settle to the side. He leans down into Blaine’s arms and kisses him sloppily before rolling to the side, tangling their legs together.

“So that’s why Sebastian kept you,” Kurt says dryly, drawing his fingers idly through the come Blaine had spilled onto his own stomach halfway through being thoroughly fucked by an enthusiastic, curious Kurt. All it had taken was the shy proposal that Kurt learn what it’s like from the top to better his technique, and Blaine had crumbled.

Blaine had woken and hastily pieced together a resolve to end things where they had begun, scared of the consequences, but it had lasted all of ten seconds, especially when Kurt had approached him so hesitantly, as though afraid that Blaine hadn’t already imagined Kurt filling him up a hundred times. And then, in the privacy of Blaine’s room, Kurt had kissed him, and Blaine couldn’t turn back.

It was one thing to think that in the heat of the moment, the night before, but he is still feeling it the next day, with a little distance and time and worry between himself and the intensity of being so intimate with Kurt. His heart still swells, his face still breaks into a grin in response to Kurt’s own, and he still aches to hold Kurt every day for the rest of his life.

Frankly, he’s in love. It’s terrifying, and difficult to come to terms with, but Kurt’s bravery in telling him his own feelings last night had tipped the scales. Blaine knows his own heart, no matter how hard he tries to deny it, no matter what he’d thought he could hold back. Kurt is absolutely everything he wants. Their time together is limited to the whims of a capricious master, both in the short term and the long term. Even if they could have all the time in the world together here, there’s no telling when one of them will be sold. But Blaine  _ wants _ this, wants it so badly it hurts. His heart decided without his consent--after consummating the feelings, after letting himself open up, it’s impossible to deny. He dove headlong into this torrent, and now all he can do is try to stay afloat.

It’s how he ended up in bed with Kurt for the second night in a row, and hopefully only the second of many. The other boys had long since gone to bed, and it had been simple enough to sneak into Kurt’s room, even with the slick emptiness left after he’d stretched himself out to pass the time. He’d let Kurt throw him down and fuck him hard, his hips quickly picking up the patterns that Blaine liked best.

And now Blaine lies in his afterglow, allowing Kurt to play with the come on his stomach until he grimaces, pulling out his own wipes and cleaning them off half-heartedly, all the while cherishing the deep, sweet ache that sings through his body, tuned to the way that Kurt had folded him up and pushed him into the mattress with every rocking thrust of his truly stunning cock.

“Are you implying that my ass is my only merit?” Blaine asks, smirking over at Kurt and delighting in the fact that Kurt is someone who could actually discuss that merit if he wanted.

“Well...not your  _ only _ merit.”

Blaine chuckles and kisses Kurt’s neck, nibbling playfully on one of the tendons when Kurt throws his head back.

“Ow, hey,” Kurt protests, smacking Blaine’s shoulder. Blaine laughs again, kissing the spot in apology before moving to Kurt’s mouth, sliding his tongue along Kurt’s soft, soft lips.

“Do you have to go?” Kurt asks after a moment, his hands still wandering over Blaine’s body like he’s getting all he can while he can.

“Not yet,” Blaine says, turning on his side and holding Kurt close, rubbing their noses together. “We have to talk first.”

“Okay,” Kurt says, worry filling his tone. “What about?”

Blaine takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, ashamed of what he has to say, and upset at having to end their idyllic moment.

“I don’t think I can hold Sebastian back for much longer,” he admits. “He’ll want you soon, and...I’m doing my best to stall him, but I need to be honest. It won’t last forever, and I--”

“Blaine--”

“No, I...I need you to hear me,” Blaine says. “You...you’re special, Kurt. You’re different than the others. Sebastian was very clear that I wasn’t to touch you, and...I know what that means.”

“What does it mean?” Kurt asks quietly, brushing at the curls sticking to Blaine’s forehead with the tips of his fingers.

“For the most part, slaves are free to do what we want--you know Nick and Jeff are together. Sebastian knows it too, and he doesn’t care. Hell, he even has them together sometimes. But once in awhile, he has a favorite. And he’s...possessive. He doesn’t like when the favorite is touched, and the consequences are severe. I’m...I’m certain that you’re going to be a favorite.”

Kurt leans up onto his elbow and looks down at Blaine suspiciously, a sweaty strand of hair falling into his face. Blaine reaches up and brushes it back.

“How do you know what the consequences are?”

Kurt’s far too smart for his own good, Blaine decides. He sighs deeply.

Kurt deserves to know. He should understand what they’re risking.

“I was Sebastian’s favorite,” Blaine says. “I was his favorite for a long time. And...I was his favorite when I was with Jeremiah.”

Kurt’s eyes go wide, but he remains quiet, staring down at Blaine as he continues, hands clutching at Kurt and sliding over his fine-grained skin to keep himself calm, to keep himself  _ here _ .

“We were careless. We didn’t know what Sebastian would do. And we were caught. One day, Sebastian had me sitting with him at dinner, and he brought Jeremiah in.”

_ “So pretty,” Sebastian murmured, and Blaine waited, peering up at Sebastian curiously. Sebastian just looked down at him, stroking his face and neck and hair, twirling the curls in his fingers. _

_ “Who would know that beneath that pretty face is a traitor.” _

_ It took Blaine a minute to fully understand what Sebastian had said, because his voice had been as fond and mild as ever, a soft smile still on his face. _

_ “Master?” _

_ There was the sound of struggle. Blaine whipped his head around to see, and watched for only a moment as three guards dragged Jeremiah in, fighting their grasp. He immediately turned back to Sebastian and looked up at him through his lashes, doing his best to look appealing and innocent. Sebastian just continued to smile down at him placidly. _

“He...Sebastian, he asked me if I loved him, and if he was the only one I loved.”

“And...” Kurt prompts, when Blaine trails off.

Blaine turns his head away in shame.

“I said yes.”

_ “Do you love me, Blaine?” _

_ Blaine could hear Jeremiah’s labored breathing. And he could almost catch him out of the corner of his eye, if he strained. But he didn’t want to try--he had to do his best to please Sebastian and get them out of this with their lives, if not the skin on their backs. _

_ “Yes, Master.” _

_ Sebastian waited a moment, drawing out the tension. Then he asked, _

_ “Do you love anyone else?” _

_ It might hurt, but there was no other way--they were caught. He took a deep breath. _

_ “No, Master.” _   
  
With Kurt out of sight and his gaze on the blank stretch of Kurt’s desk beside the bed, Blaine feels like he has nothing to focus on.

“Then he made me blow him while Jeremiah was whipped.”

_ “He’s bad for you, Blaine,” Sebastian continued. “And he’ll be whipped and sold for his transgressions. For touching you, and for leading you on to believe that he loved you.” _

_ Blaine began to tremble. He knew his punishment was coming. _

_ “In the meantime, I want you to show me that you are mine,” Sebastian said, unbuttoning his pants and pulling out his cock, already fully erect. “Give me that sweet little mouth, beautiful. Show me you love me.” _

_ Blaine did his best to smile up at Sebastian as he leant forward and opened his mouth, taking Sebastian’s cock in and sucking enthusiastically. _

_ “Good boy,” Sebastian breathed. There was a movement above Blaine’s head, and then he heard a faint whistle followed by a scream. _

“Oh, Blaine--”

“It didn’t end there,” Blaine says, his eyes clouding as he falls into the memories that he spends most of his time trying to deny. 

_ Every cry ripped through him, flying to the guilt roiling in his gut unerringly. It was his fault Sebastian was doing this, he’d been the one to approach Jeremiah, he’d been the one to assure that Sebastian wouldn’t take things this far, he’d been the one that couldn’t keep his mouth shut during a fucking blow job... _

_ Sebastian only seemed to get enjoyment from the spectacle, though. Every time the whip fell, he sighed in satisfaction, petting Blaine’s head encouragingly and thrusting up eagerly until finally, ten lashes later, he came, spurting into Blaine’s throat as he held Blaine’s head all the way down, grinding up through his release. _

_ Blaine swallowed, panting when Sebastian pulled back. _

_ “Good boy,” he said. Blaine looked up at him, catching him waving away the guards and Jeremiah behind him. “Now. We’re going to go to my rooms. And you’re going to stay there with me until we can get that boy out of your memory, all right?” _

_ Blaine nodded. There was nothing else he could do. _

“Sebastian took me to his room. And I didn’t leave for three days.”

“What happened? What did he do to you?” Kurt’s voice is barely a breath on his cheek.

“He...used me.  _ Claimed _ me. Three days of...pretty much what you saw the other day. Bite marks and bruises. He had to bring in a doctor to see me afterward--and paid him off to keep quiet, too, I’m sure. I couldn’t move. He’d kept me handcuffed, so my shoulders were strained, and I had some deep bruising that needed attention. And...I was pretty torn up. One mercy was that he couldn’t touch me for weeks after while I healed. But I stayed in my bed, and I had nothing to do in there but think of what he’d done, and everything he’d said to me.”

_ “This boy is a bad influence,” Sebastian whispered, tendrils of doubt winding slick and sibilant into Blaine’s heart. “He breaks my rules and he toys with you. He doesn’t love you, Blaine. He knows he wasn’t supposed to touch you, and he did anyway. He liked the thrill. You know he’s been caught with others before you.” _

“What did he say?”

_ “You’re mine, Blaine.” Sebastian’s words were accompanied by a symphony--the high strains of a bed frame creaking, the percussion of the headboard rhythmically pounding the wall, his own cries of pain and Sebastian’s intermittent grunts adding arpeggios and staccato harmonies to the swell of sliding skin. It’s a composition that Blaine never wants to hear again. “Mine alone. You can’t have anyone but me.” _

“Just that I was his. That no one else would ever touch me...because he was the only love I’d ever have.”

There is wetness on his cheeks, and the sensation brings him back to himself. He’s crying, and Kurt is wiping away the tears from his cheeks, disregarding his own.

“It’s not true,” Kurt says, kissing his cheeks and the corners of his eyes, hands cupping his jaw so carefully. “It’s not true, Blaine.  _ I _ love you. You’ll always have my love, and he can’t take that away--”

“He can, Kurt,” Blaine interrupts, his voice high and panicked. “That’s exactly what I’m trying to tell you. He can take it all away in a flash. If he finds out about us, I’m afraid he’ll do to you what he did to me, and I can’t...I can’t let him hurt you like that.”

“You’re the one who told me that I get to choose who I let in,” Kurt insists, holding Blaine’s face firm and forcing him to look into his eyes. “You said he couldn’t touch me if I didn’t let him. Well, I won’t. He can’t touch us. Or what we have.”

Blaine shivers and leans his forehead up against Kurt’s, pulling Kurt closer.

“What did I do to deserve you?” Blaine asks. “I wasn’t even looking for you.”

“I must have been looking for you,” Kurt says simply. “If you’re in, I’m in. I want this. I don’t care about Sebastian. We can keep quiet, we can be together. It’s worth it to me.”

“You know what could happen--”

“Is it worth it to you?”

“Not your pain,” Blaine says. “I would rather give you up than let you be hurt--”

“That’s my decision.” Kurt looks down at him seriously. “I’m willing to risk it. I won’t ask you to risk yourself, though.”

There’s no way this can end well, Blaine thinks. As long as they’re with Sebastian--

Wait.

“Kurt,” Blaine says, freezing as his head fills with thoughts that had, until now, been hidden, half-formed in the back of his mind. “I think...there might be a way.”

Kurt blinks down at him, scoffing impatiently when Blaine doesn’t elaborate.

“Are you going to  _ tell _ me--”

“From what you said, there’s no way your father or someone with legal power over you could have sold you. Am I right?”

“Yes,” Kurt says. “Dad was in the hospital, he couldn’t have sold me--”

“And he wasn’t in debt to anyone? No other family members were around?”

“No,” Kurt says. “Blaine, what’s this about--”

“Kurt, I’ve been with Sebastian a long time,” Blaine explains. “I’ve seen him do things that a lot of people would be very interested to know about. Like kidnapping slaves who had no legal right to be sold.”

Kurt stares.

“If I’m right, you are legally not a slave.”

“This whole time?” Kurt asks, his voice deadly quiet. “I’ve...I’ve been here illegally this whole time?”

“There was nothing we could do about it before,” Blaine says. “But if...if you can keep Sebastian happy and distracted...I might be able to sneak into his office and get his files. I might be able to get him shut down.”

“Why haven’t you done it before?” Kurt asks.

“Kurt, I’m a slave,” Blaine says. “I don’t have any legal rights. I was born a slave, and I’ll die a slave--you know that’s how the farms work. Up til now, Sebastian’s been my only option. But you--you do have rights. And if I’m right, they’ve been violated. You could be the proof needed to take Sebastian down.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Kurt asks, Blaine’s heart breaking at the sadness in his eyes.

“I didn’t want to get your hopes up over nothing,” Blaine replies. “It was hard enough on you to adjust, if you were holding out hope for something that might never happen...it would just hurt you more if the moment never came. Please...forgive me; I only did it to protect you.”

Kurt considers for a moment, studying Blaine’s face, and nods. Blaine whispers a quick  _ thank you _ and kisses Kurt softly before pulling back, looking up at Kurt seriously.

“If we can do it,” Blaine says, “will you run with me? If Sebastian’s arrested, I’ll just get sold again. If...if I want to be free, if I’m to stay with you...I can’t just stick around. If I ran, would you come with me?”

Kurt’s lip trembles and he nods before throwing himself down into Blaine’s arms, clinging tight and burying his face in Blaine’s chest. Blaine surrounds him, holding him tight and kissing his hair.

“Of course I will,” he whispers. “I’ll do whatever you need.”

They lie in silence, holding each other close for long minutes before Kurt looks up, breathing Blaine in.

“We’ll need time, yes?”

Blaine smiles sadly.

“Yes.”

Kurt nods.

“Okay,” he says evenly. “Then we should start as soon as we can. I’m ready to go to Sebastian, and I want you to tell him that tomorrow.”

“Are you sure--”

“I’m not going to let him hurt you anymore, Blaine,” Kurt cuts in. “And if Sebastian’s busy with me, he’ll leave you free to do what you need to do. It’s okay. I’m ready.”

Blaine cranes his neck down to kiss Kurt, his chest tightening with the need to tell Kurt how he feels. But he just smiles when he pulls back.

“Then I think we should get in as much practice as possible in the meantime,” he suggests teasingly, hands drifting low down Kurt’s back. Kurt rises up over Blaine and grabs his hips, guiding Blaine’s legs around his waist before suddenly flipping them, landing on his back with Blaine straddling him.

“I think  _ you  _ need practice,” Kurt counters, reaching to the side for the lube, the fingers of the other hand tracing the swollen, still-damp skin around Blaine’s rim. “I think you’re losing your touch, old man.”

Blaine laughs and takes the lube from Kurt’s hand.

“Let’s see who wears out first, then.”

\--

Jesse hits the stop button on his voice recorder, smiling faintly down at the little digital display that shows the length of the last recording--it’s quite long.

Sebastian’s going to be very glad he got such a high quality device. Up til now, it’s only been used to record Jesse’s singing, but thankfully it’s been strong enough to pick up most of the muffled conversation happening on the other side of his wall. It’s not perfect--it’s hard to tell the difference between the voices, and it’s a thick wall, but it doesn’t really matter. He caught the words, and plenty of compromising noises. It’ll have to be enough.

“And what are you going to do with that?”

Jesse jumps and spins around. Hunter is leaning in his doorway, arms crossed and eyebrow cocked.

“I’ll have to sandpaper my hinges,” Jesse says wryly.

“Fat chance,” Hunter replies. “You’d never get away with sneaking out to visit your little whores in the kitchens. On that note, I was under the impression that you were straight.”

“Straight is relative,” Jesse says with a brief shrug. “I’ve spent the last five years of my life taking it up the ass; it’s nice to be on the other end of it sometimes. Besides,  _ one _ of them is a woman. What are you doing in my room?”

“You and I have similar goals.” Hunter shuts the door behind himself and ambles over to Jesse’s desk, seating himself in the chair there like he owns it. “I’m guessing it’s the new kid you’re interested in ousting?”

“That’s right,” Jesse says. “But Blaine can go, too, for all I care.”

“Good,” Hunter shoots back. “Because that’s what I want.”

Jesse raises an eyebrow.

“You want to take his place.”

“It’s the best gig there is,” Hunter agrees. “My time’s up here, and I refuse to be sold to a middle class pervert or sent to a farm to fuck some half-rate bitch for the rest of my life. And I’m guessing you know that if those two are removed, your chances of staying past your time is improved as well.”

“Of course. So what do you want, then?”

“I want in,” Hunter says. “We’ll both bring this to Sebastian, and we’ll both reap the rewards.”

“And why should I help you?” Jesse asks. “I could take Blaine’s job myself.”

“You don’t want Blaine’s job,” Hunter says. “You want to be sold to Cassie July. She’s the only one who can get a slave on Broadway. She did it with her little man candy before he knocked up that kitchen slave. She’s looking for his replacement. You want the spot.”

“You know how to eavesdrop,” Jesse says.

“No, I know how to make people talk. I don’t have to stoop to listening at doors, or behind walls.”

“Sugar,” Jesse guesses. “At the banquet. You were with her the whole night. She blabbed?”

“She funds Cassie’s enterprises. And she’s a big fan of mine.”

Jesse glares, above a pleasant half-smile. 

“Just using my talents to please,” Hunter continues. “I bet if we please Sebastian by making sure he knows of this, he’ll do us both a favor. But what you’ve got there won’t do it.”

“I have them on tape--”

“You have two muffled voices and a bunch of jumbled crap. All Blaine has to do is suggest that you’re trying to take his spot by paying off Nick and Jeff to impersonate them and everyone is out of his way. You know Sebastian eats up everything he shits out.”

“Okay then,” Jesse admits begrudgingly, “it’s not enough. What do you suggest?”

“I suggest we bring Sebastian in on it,” Hunter says. “Tell him we want to get more evidence. He’s paranoid enough to accept that, and he’ll be intrigued by the suggestion. We get him to hold off on confronting Blaine long enough to get more, and we’re golden.”

“Fine,” Jesse says. “We’ll do it your way. We’ll wait until one of us is summoned for the night, and the other can sneak out and be on hand while Blaine is busy with his precious little twink. Agreed?”

“Agreed.”

\--

The next morning, Blaine straightens Sebastian’s clothing and gathers his courage.

“I have good news for you, Master,” he says, plastering a smile on his face.

Sebastian turns and looks at him questioningly.

“Kurt is prepared to serve you,” he says. “I’ve completed the training, and I believe he is ready.”

Sebastian grins and pulls Blaine in, kissing him fiercely, his hands roaming over Blaine’s body hungrily.

“Good work, beautiful,” he says, squeezing Blaine’s ass in his hands. “You’re such a good boy. I’ll have to think of a proper reward for you.”

Blaine feels sick at the idea of getting something for preparing Kurt for this. It feels like he’s selling Kurt somehow, and he feels dirty.

“Serving you is reward enough, Master,” he says, bowing his head.

Sebastian doesn’t look like he believes Blaine, but he lets it slide, kissing Blaine again through a cheshire grin.

“Don’t send anyone to me at lunch,” Sebastian says. “I think I’ll save all of it for tonight.”

And that’s it. Sebastian turns and walks out, leaving Blaine behind.

\--

Blaine walks back from Sebastian’s dinner as slowly as possible, Sebastian’s words ringing in his head.

_ “Bring him to me as soon as he’s ready _ ,” he’d said.  _ “I don’t want to wait any longer.” _

Kurt’s in the common room when he finally reaches the harem, laughing and joking on the couch with Jeff.

He looks perfect. Happy, carefree, beautiful. Will Sebastian change him? Will he be different?   
Blaine watches him for several long moments, cherishing this last moment before Sebastian finally sinks his claws into Kurt. It might be the last time Kurt is... _ this _ . Innocent, sweet Kurt. His virginity wasn’t what was important all along--it’s  _ this _ .

Blaine hopes Sebastian can’t take it away.

“Let’s get some dinner,” he says, when Kurt looks up and grins at him.

They do. They eat slowly, sides pressed together as they stand at the counter, nibbling on food neither of them want\--it’s a bid for time, and for strength. That’s it. At least, that’s it for Blaine. Kurt follows his lead until the food is gone.

“Don’t stall anymore, Blaine,” he says, when they walk back to the harem together, hands brushing between them. “Please...I want to get it over with.”

Blaine nods, smiling at Kurt as encouragingly as possible as his heart sinks.

“Let’s go to my room,” he suggests, and Kurt nods, following him in.

He preps Kurt slowly, gently, intimately. He lays beside him on the bed, kissing his face and neck and shoulders as he opens him with sedulous care, whispering endearments and assurances into his skin until he’s got four fingers sliding in and out easily.

“I’m good,” Kurt says, kissing Blaine lovingly as he pulls Blaine’s wrist away from himself. He pulls on some briefs and takes Blaine’s hand, leading him out. “Let’s go.”

Blaine steps ahead and pulls Kurt along, giving the appearance of support and guidance so that he can hold onto his hand a little longer. He passes by Nick and Jeff on their way out, ignoring their sympathetic smiles and what they mean.

“Sebastian’s bigger than I am,” Blaine whispers as they walk down the hall. “But you should be able to take it fine. Just do whatever he wants and it’ll be easy enough--”

“Will you wait for me?” Kurt asks, and as they stop in front of Sebastian’s door his bravado falls away, revealing a scared sixteen year old again. Blaine cups Kurt’s face in his hands and strokes his cheeks.

“I’ll be out here the whole time,” Blaine promises. He looks around quickly, ensuring that they are alone, and kisses Kurt hard, throwing caution to the wind to give this to Kurt. “I won’t leave you.”

Kurt nods and embraces Blaine, holding him tight as a vice for a long moment before pulling back and giving Blaine a final peck.

“I love you,” Kurt whispers, leaning his forehead against Blaine’s for a moment before turning away, letting himself into Sebastian’s room without a backward glance.

Blaine sits down beside the door, and waits.

\--

It’s a long time after the first greeting between Sebastian and Kurt before Blaine hears anything.

His imagination swims with what could be happening--he hopes Sebastian is being kind to Kurt, letting him enjoy it, taking it easy. He hopes Sebastian kisses him and strokes him and builds him up, so that it’s as close to what he had with Blaine as possible, and not so scary.

Then a moan pierces the silence.

It’s low, and long, and it belongs to Sebastian. Blaine shuts his eyes and clenches them tight. It’s not long before his ears pick up sounds from Kurt, as well--little cries and gasps, higher than the grunts falling from Sebastian. Blaine sends a thank you to whatever higher power might exist--Kurt isn’t crying, or screaming, or begging.

It still hurts, a little jealous pain, when Kurt wails, followed shortly by a hoarse shout from Sebastian, and then silence. Blaine waits, and waits, expecting the door to open and Kurt to come out.

He doesn’t. He doesn’t hear footsteps, or the creaking of a hinge. Instead, he hears everything start all over, whispers and groans growing until they become cries, shattering the emptiness of the hall.

The third time it happens, Blaine hears the bed hitting the wall, and he’s not sure if it’s his imagination filling in the blanks, but he thinks he can hear Sebastian’s hips slapping against Kurt’s skin. He thinks he can hear the slide of their bodies together, the slick noise that Sebastian’s cock is making as it slides in and out of Kurt again and again and again\--

Kurt screams this time. It takes a very long time to get there, filled with whimpers and pleas from Kurt for  _ more _ , and  _ harder _ , and Blaine’s heart curls up in his chest, mimicking the way he hugs his legs to his chest and buries his eyes against his knees, hiding the tears that fall as he wishes that it were him, making Kurt feel that way. He knows very well that it’s okay for Kurt to take pleasure in what he’s forced to do, and Blaine could never hold it against him. He’s glad that Kurt isn’t hurt--that’s what this has all been about.

But he wants more than anything to live a life where he and Kurt belong to each other and each other alone.

Finally, the sounds in the room fall completely silent, and stay that way for several long minutes. And then he hears what he’s been waiting for.

The door opens.

He springs to his feet, pushing away the dizziness at standing too quickly as he rushes over and shuts the door behind Kurt before checking him over, his hands finding Kurt’s upper arms, soothing and light.

“Kurt?”

Kurt looks exhausted. He’s hugging himself and his knees are trembling, his eyes drooping. Blaine notices the shine of come on his stomach, and little bruises along his hips, but he appears uninjured, and he even smiles weakly at Blaine.

“I’m okay,” Kurt says. His voice is thin and ragged, and Blaine tries not to remember the final cry of pleasure that still rings in his ears. “It’s okay, Blaine.”

He takes a step and stumbles a little, his whole body trembling. Blaine immediately pulls Kurt’s arm around his neck and bends, picking Kurt up with his arms around his knees and shoulders.

Kurt doesn’t protest as Blaine carries him back. Kurt is heavy, but he bears up under the weight, trying not to break down when Kurt buries his face in Blaine’s neck, nuzzling there and mumbling sleepily.

“Love you.”

Blaine brings him into his room--the bed is bigger, and softer, and he wants to hold Kurt all night, the consequences be damned. He lays Kurt down and cleans him off carefully, stripping him down and wiping away all evidence that he can that Kurt was with someone else tonight before slipping into bed with him, holding him close beneath the covers.

“Are you mad at me?” Kurt whispers, settling into Blaine’s arms.

“God, no, Kurt,” Blaine says immediately, kissing Kurt’s temple. “I’m not mad at you, of course not.”

“I enjoyed it--”

“That’s okay,” Blaine insists. “I told you, we all do. It makes things so much easier. It’s okay to enjoy sex, no matter who it’s with.”

“It wasn’t you.”

That stings.

“No,” Blaine says. “It wasn’t.”

“I wish I didn’t have to,” Kurt murmurs. “I wish...I belonged to you. Only you.”

“Soon,” Blaine vows. “We’ll find a way to escape. We’ll belong to each other.”

“Yes,” Kurt agrees. “Soon.”

Blaine squeezes Kurt tight. One day, they’ll be together for real. Until that moment, he’ll take everything Kurt will give him--and he’ll give everything of himself in return.

He leans down and kisses Kurt, grateful that he’s still whole, and still warm, and still perfect.

“I love you,” he says, finally letting the emotions he’d been holding back flow through him. He shakes, and his eyes tear, but he smiles, kissing Kurt again. “I love you, I love you so much.”

Kurt just beams at him, like it’s the simplest thing in the world.

“I love you, too.”


	9. Chapter 9

Blaine’s routine has changed drastically since the time Kurt came into his life.

He still tends to Sebastian. He still bathes and dresses him, and takes care of his wants and needs when called upon. He still takes care of the harem, and occasionally, he even pleasures his master.

But now he has other things to occupy his time. Namely, Kurt, and their plan to run.

Sebastian summons Kurt pretty much every day, now--usually at night, though occasionally in the mornings and afternoons. He rarely gets time off, and while Blaine would invariably prefer to keep Kurt to himself, it serves their purposes. While Kurt is occupying Sebastian, Blaine has a remarkably easy time smiling and waving his way past the guards stationed around the house like nothing is out of the ordinary and getting into Sebastian’s office while Trent is out running errands or already in bed. From there, it’s a simple matter of taking as little time as possible to snag a document or a file or, on one lucky occasion, a slew of emails when Sebastian forgot to log out of his account. Everything is stored carefully on a thumb drive that, previously, Blaine had used to transfer movies from Sebastian’s computer to his own laptop, as Sebastian is the only one with unrestricted internet access and any computers on the network outside of his own are carefully monitored.

Sebastian doesn’t monitor his own computer at all. Blaine knows for a fact that he doesn’t want a record anywhere of his activities that can be traced if he decides to crash the system in the instance of an investigation or raid. So it’s a simple matter to make copies onto the thumb drive, hide them, and simply walk out again like he’d just been checking paperwork, a common task of his.

The opportunity to check what they have doesn’t come for several weeks, but when it does, Blaine is quick to seize it.

“I’ve gotten a laptop for Kurt,” Sebastian says one morning, tugging at a slim tie that Blaine has just slipped around his neck. “I’m having someone come in after lunch to set it up with the normal security, but you can give it to him now.” He smirks devilishly. “There’s already a few things...available for him. Make sure he takes a look, and I’ll have him join us in the dining room at dinner to see what he’s learned.”

Sebastian nods over to his table, where a slim, sleek piece of technological beauty sits, a thick, silky red ribbon tied around it. Blaine retrieves it and heads out, hurrying to the harem with his heart pounding excitedly.

Kurt is in his room, music playing loud, sketching something complex with his tongue poking out between his teeth in concentration. Even with the adrenaline of his frantic need to act pulsing in his veins, Blaine takes a moment to grin like the lovesick idiot he is at how adorable that is.

“Hey, you,” Blaine says after a minute, face stretched to almost the point of pain with how hard he’s smiling. Kurt looks up and immediately returns Blaine’s smile, nevertheless raising an eyebrow at how silly Blaine must look.

“What’s got you so happy?”

“A few things,” Blaine says, resisting the urge to saunter in and show Kurt just what makes him happy. There’s business, first. “If you can come to my room, there’s a few things I need to show you.”

He slips away, heading into his room. He places the laptop on the desk and retrieves the thumb drive from where he’s hidden it, pulling off the casing of an electrical socket and pulling it out from where it’s been carefully taped to the back of the wall, out of sight and almost out of reach. He replaces the casing haphazardly and looks up just as Kurt enters the room.

“What’s going on?” he asks.

“First of all,” Blaine says, shutting the door firmly behind Kurt before pulling him into his arms. “This.”

He kisses Kurt deeply, as he wanted to do only minutes before. Kurt kisses back eagerly, pressing himself tight against Blaine’s body, fingers digging into his shoulders. Blaine pulls back with a great effort of self-control.

“We can do more with that later,” he gasps. “We only have a little bit of time.”

“For what?”

Blaine turns and looks at the laptop on the desk. Kurt follows his gaze before he gasps.

“Is that...for me?”

“Yes,” Blaine says. “Sebastian got it for you, and it’s not on the network yet. There are no trackers on it.”

Kurt’s eyes widen and he looks back to Blaine.

“Does that mean--”

Blaine bounces on his feet and holds up the thumb drive, and Kurt grins, grabbing it out of his hand and rushing to the desk and pulling the ribbon off the laptop.

“Hmm,” Kurt says, holding the length of red up before dropping it aside with a smirk. “I might keep this.”

Blaine smiles suggestively, raking his eyes over Kurt where he’s bent over to open the laptop, and Kurt laughs.

“Later,” he says, booting up the computer. It loads fast, revealing a single file folder on the desktop, labeled, “Instruction.”

“What is that?” Kurt asks quietly, as though not aware he’s saying it out loud. Blaine leans down next to him, one elbow on the desk and the other arm winding around Kurt’s waist.

“Sebastian wants you to look in that and take tips for later,” Blaine says. “He wants you at dinner.”

“Are you going to be there?” Kurt asks with some surprise. Sebastian’s kept Kurt entirely to himself thus far, never summoning him with anyone else.

“Seems so,” Blaine says, and a little stab of worry shoots through his gut.

It’s one thing to know that Kurt will be pleasuring Sebastian, or even hear it. It’s going to be something else entirely to have to watch it.

“But let’s do this,” he continues, pushing it away for now. “Before we lose our chance.”

Kurt nods in agreement and sticks the thumb drive into a port, quickly loading up its contents and opening them.

They have a lot of files. Financial reports, statements and reports from farm runners and dealers, copies of receipts--so many receipts. Kurt immediately starts scrolling through them, his eyes glued to the screen, scanning for his own name.

“Oh my god.”

Blaine immediately frowns at the screen. There’s no mention of Kurt in the scan pulled up--under slave name is “Unknown at time of purchase” with a set of initials next to it, matching the handwriting of the dealer that brought Kurt in. But Kurt’s locked onto it, a look of deep betrayal and anger on his face, twisting it into something less beautiful than Blaine has ever seen.

He looks...terrifying, to be frank.

“That son of a bitch,” he spits, his eyes filling with tears, his teeth gritted as he stands up and balls his fists. “That sick, twisted little shit--”

Blaine immediately grabs one of Kurt’s hands, softly stroking at the whitened knuckles.

“Kurt, what is it--”

“Look at the name,” he seethes. “Look at who sold me!”

Blaine reads over the receipt till he reaches the area labeled, “Seller.”

David Karofsky. Next to his name, a box marked “Debtor” is checked.

“A debtor?” Blaine is confused--Kurt had been adamant that he and his father owed nothing.

“Debtor my ass,” Kurt snaps. “He went to my high school. That bastard threw me in more dumpsters, and locker checked me, and slushied me--he never left me alone. He was the worst of them. And he fucking  _ sold _ me!”

“Okay, hold on,” Blaine says, leaning down to the computer again, taking over as Kurt paces the room, biting at a knuckle to keep himself calm.

He pulls up the dealer reports, and thankfully they’re documents and not photo scans, because he can word search. He quickly types in Karofsky’s name.

The page jumps to one of the last reports. Blaine begins to read aloud.

“ _ A Mr. David Karofsky was waiting outside the gates of the farm upon taking our leave. He insisted that he had someone we could easily obtain, and went on to describe the whereabouts of Kurt Hummel. Mr. Karofsky assured us Mr. Hummel was of good stock, and staying alone while his father was hospitalized. We checked on the information and found it to be accurate. Mr. Karofsky signed the paperwork, claiming Debtor status for the receipts, claiming Mr. Hummel owed him for ‘emotional trauma’-- _ ”

“Emotional trauma?” Kurt burst out. “Oh, what, he was so traumatized by the presence of the local fag that he had to seek treatment? I infected him with my fairy dust, was that--”

“Kurt, calm down,” Blaine says, grabbing for Kurt’s shoulders and holding him steady. “We need to keep quiet and do this fast--we can talk about it later, okay?”

Kurt bites his lip and nods, rage still flowing off of him in waves. Blaine strokes his cheek and returns to the computer.

“ _ \--for which he intended to seek treatment. Mr. Karofsky was paid the sum of fifteen thousand U.S. dollars ($15,000.00), determined from reports of average cost of health care for a trauma patient. It is a negligible sum when compared to the possible profit that could be made from the sale of Mr. Hummel, who, upon abduction from his empty home, was found to be of superior quality. Estimates of his sale are unknown, as open bids are known to be widely variable, but I would guess that Mr. Hummel could fetch a five or six figure price in a bidding war should he be presented as is.” _

Blaine reads over the rest of the report in silence, certain that Kurt will not want to relive his capture and transportation, as it is described. But he does smile a little bit when he reads about how Kurt almost scratched someone’s eyes out when they grabbed him and tried to inspect him, and about how he verbally abused everyone soundly throughout the process.

Blaine is so in love with this strong, wonderful man.

He turns and pulls Kurt into his arms again, running his hands up and down Kurt’s back as Kurt buries his face in Blaine’s neck, shaking and breathing heavily.

“Calm down with me,” Blaine whispers. “Breathe with me. Feel how I move, and move with me, okay?”

Kurt nods, and Blaine starts breathing slowly, inhaling and exhaling loudly to cue Kurt to join him. He does, following when Blaine starts leading him in a little rocking dance, back and forth and in a slow circle, clinging tight and breathing in time. When Kurt matches him for several minutes, Blaine starts to sing softly.

_ You make me _   
_ Feel like I’m living a _   
_ Teenage dream _   
_ The way you turn me on _   
_ I can’t sleep _   
_ Let’s run away and don’t ever look back _   
_ Don’t ever look back _

“Let’s keep looking,” Kurt says, pulling up and looking into Blaine’s eyes when his voice trails off. “And you can sing me the rest after.”

Blaine smiles and nods, kissing Kurt’s forehead gently before leading him back to the computer.

“Let’s take a look at the emails, okay?” Blaine suggests. “I think we’ve found all we can about your sale, and it’s definitely enough to get Sebastian investigated.”

Kurt just nods, so Blaine pulls up the copies he made of the emails and immediately types in Kurt’s name into a search.

It pulls up dozens of mentions.

“Oh my god,” Kurt gasps for the second time. “That’s--that’s my dad!”

He immediately nudges Blaine out of the way and clicks on the screen, reading furiously.

“He’s asking about me!” Kurt breathes, eyes still flying across the screen as he scrolls through the messages. “He says he sent messages to all the major slave dealers in the country, but he hasn’t stopped messaging Sebastian because he owns that farm. It’s not even five miles from our house, so it’s the most likely--”

He pauses, reading on.

“Sebastian keeps telling him he doesn’t have me and directing the emails to Trent, but they keep popping up.”

Kurt covers his mouth with one hand and reads on, and Blaine gives him a moment of privacy, instead watching his face as he cycles through happiness and sadness and anger like he can’t decide what to settle on.

“He’s alive,” he sobs finally. “He woke up, and he’s alive, and he’s looking for me.”

He looks up, and Blaine smiles at him.

“That’s amazing, Kurt,” he says. “And you’ll get to see him soon--I promise we’ll find a way.”

“Blaine, he could help us,” Kurt says, his voice strained, as though fighting the urge to yell. “Is there any way to get a message to him?”

Blaine’s face falls, and he shakes his head.

“I don’t think there is,” he says honestly. “Our computers are all tracked once they’re on the network, and it’s too risky to send it from Sebastian’s computer. It’s one thing to take ten seconds to copy some files. It’ll take time to type out the message and send it, and then delete it from the computer, I don’t know if I’ll get that time--”

“Please, Blaine,” Kurt begs. “Just message and say that you’re a fellow slave, and that I’ll be home soon, but he shouldn’t act any differently or say that he got a message. Just say we’ll come soon. I’ll make sure Sebastian is occupied--I’ll even see if I can get him to send you to his computer himself. He did that when you ordered my training supplies, didn’t he?”

Blaine sighs.

“Yes, he did,” he admits. “It’s so dangerous, though, Kurt, it could risk everything--”

“I’ll write you a message right now,” Kurt says. “Just save it on the thumb drive and when you go to send the message just copy it over and send it. It’ll give you more time.”

Kurt immediately sits down and starts typing away at the basic word processor, words flying across the screen. In just over a minute, he’s done.

“There,” Kurt says. “Will that work?”

Blaine looks down at the message.

_ Dad _ , it says.  _ I’m okay. I was sold to Sebastian Smythe, and I’m in his house. I’m doing fine and I’m working with another slave to escape right now. We have evidence against Sebastian here, but we’ll need anything you can think of to prove my identity so we can prove I’m not legally a slave when the time comes. Just get it together and get ready--as soon as we can, we’ll be leaving, and we’ll need your help. Wait for me to contact you before you do anything, though--don’t send anything in to the police until we’re ready, or everything will be ruined. Just trust me, and when you get a message or a phone call from me, go to the place you caught me doing Single Ladies with Tina. We’ll meet you there. Otherwise, act completely normal. I love you. K. _

“Where did he catch you doing Single Ladies?” Blaine can’t help but ask, his lips twitching into a smile at the thought of Kurt dancing like that.

“Our basement,” Kurt explains. “But I thought that if anyone did read this after we left they’d be waiting for my dad to leave, and wouldn’t watch the house as much when he goes to the shop and things like that. When we get there, we can hide in the woods near the house and wait till he’s gone and sneak in. He’ll be smart enough to realize we’ll need to get past anyone watching us--he’ll help make it happen.”

It sounds sketchy to Blaine, but he doesn’t question it--he can figure out something better when the time comes. There’s no other way to debate it now.

“Okay,” he says instead. “Put it on the drive, label it something I’ll remember. I’ll hide it later and then...we’ll figure out a way to get me into the office long enough to send it. But we still have to come up with a way to get out in the first place--here’s my idea.”

\--

By the time dinner comes, they’ve had a productive day. Blaine had outlined his plan; on the day of their escape, he’d sneak into Sebastian’s office, break into a few of Sebastian’s locked desk drawers. He’d need a car key and a gun, both of which he knew the location of. He’d get Kurt and lead them to the back door that had a path to the garage--and he’d do his best to talk his way past them, telling them that Sebastian wanted to find Kurt waiting for him in a back seat and Blaine was setting it up. If it didn’t work, he’d threaten them with the gun and have Kurt tie them up in the garden along the path to the garage. Then they’d just walk in, find their car, and drive out with the codes they’d discovered among the files. Sebastian kept his gas tanks full, and if that wasn’t enough to get them to Ohio they’d have to improvise and steal some, but Blaine figured they could face that if it came.

Once they’d settled on that, they’d hid the thumb drive once more and opened the folder Sebastian had left for Kurt on his computer, Kurt declaring that it might well help him keep Sebastian from getting bored. The ups and downs of the day, ending in a firm plan for their escape, put new life into Kurt in that moment, and he’d attacked his little homework assignment with vigor.

Blaine had been unable to resist kissing the blush that flooded Kurt’s cheeks when several videos and pictures entirely devoted to porn were revealed. He’d also been unable to resist the urge to suck Kurt off while he watched the videos, hard despite his embarrassment at watching the increasingly kinky acts depicted.

Blaine keeps in mind that Kurt came spectacularly during a video that involved several men at once. It would be something to discuss and possibly discover later.

But now, they walk down the hall toward the dining hall to meet up with Sebastian for whatever game he’s planned during dinner. He’d made a point of making sure Kurt was okay after the big day they’d had, but Kurt had borne up beautifully, assuring Blaine with a kiss to the forehead that he was only more determined to do his job well. Blaine had taken him at his word and let him get what he would only loosely call dressed before leading him out; the red ribbon is tied in a pretty bow around Kurt’s throat, and he’s wearing nothing else but a very tiny pair of red briefs with black trim. He looks delicious, and Blaine wants nothing more than to peel the briefs from him and bury his face in whatever’s revealed, teasing Kurt to desperation with every trick he’s ever learned, despite how recently he’d done something awfully similar. He just can’t get enough of Kurt--even when he is about to watch Kurt in the act of belonging to someone else.

The thought isn’t yet enough to calm him, so he’s grateful for the chance to sit down and hide his erection when they reach their destination. It wouldn’t do for Sebastian to see him like that. But thankfully, Sebastian only has eyes for Kurt when he finally strolls in.

Blaine can’t blame him in the least. Kurt is perched on the arm of the couch, one long, white leg crossed over the other, revealing the taut expanse of his thigh. He’s leaning back languidly, one arm along the back, the fingers of his other hand dancing in little patterns on his collarbone. He smiles shyly when he sees Sebastian watching him, his eyes dropping demurely, twinkling with just a bit of mischief. He’s the very epitome of youth and temptation, and Blaine has a hard time looking away himself, especially when he realizes that Kurt is enjoying having this power over everyone.

He’s found a way to control the situation. Blaine sits in awe of him; his beautiful, strong boy, taking the reins when by all expectation he should be the one straining against the bit. No--he doesn’t do that, not like the rest. He’s guiding the thumb that holds him down to lift him up instead.

Blaine’s heart swells and strains against his chest. He feels far too small for the level of feeling Kurt incites in him.

“I see you got my gift,” Sebastian says, leaning over Kurt and lifting his chin to lay a kiss just above the ribbon. “Did you like it?”

“Yes, thank you, Master,” Kurt says quietly, smiling.

“And you watched the videos?”

“I did, Master.”

“Good,” Sebastian says. He signals to a slave, who immediately brings in his meal and lays it out. “I’m looking forward to seeing you put it to use.”

“Master, if I may?”

Sebastian nods, and Kurt slips off his seat and starts unraveling the ribbon from his throat, a faint smirk on his face the whole time. He lays it aside for a moment and starts undressing Sebastian, pulling off his jacket and button-up and playfully slipping the tie around his own neck, the sleek fabric brushing gently against his bare chest. Then, he slowly brings the ribbon to Sebastian’s face, cautiously looking to see if Sebastian has any protests. When he simply grins and allows Kurt to tie it around him, he moves with more confidence, wrapping it around Sebastian’s head and making sure his eyes are completely covered.

“No peeking,” he says, turning and grinning at Blaine.

_ Can I? _ he mouths, pointing at the food spread on the table. Blaine nods, and as Kurt picks up a plate of fruit and seats himself next to Sebastian, he finds he wishes he’d shaken his head.

Kurt proceeds to tease Sebastian with the food, running it around his lips before letting him bite into it, or making Sebastian take it from between his own lips. He even runs some of it over Sebastian’s chest, teasing his nipples with morsels that are alternatingly cool and warm before biting into the food himself. He switches through the different foods available--succulent fruits, savory vegetables, slices of cheese, juicy cuts of meat that have Sebastian licking and sucking Kurt’s fingers into his mouth to clean them off. Finally, when Sebastian asks for dessert, Kurt scoops up some honey from a plate of baklava and drizzles it over Sebastian’s chest, watching for a moment as the bright liquid oozes over the dips in Sebastian’s muscles, clenching sporadically at the unexpected trickle of warmth. He squirms a little, already piqued from Kurt’s earlier teasing, and Blaine can’t help but admire the way Kurt plays him. He’s never seen Sebastian sit back and let another run the show like this before--it’s incredible to watch.

And then Kurt leans down to lick the honey from Sebastian’s skin, hands gripping at bare hips to keep them steady, and Blaine has never felt so torn. In equal turns, he wants to run away, join, and tear Kurt away and lick the honey from his lips, showing Sebastian just who he really belongs to. His body reacts as he would expect--Kurt is sex personified, smearing Sebastian with confections before licking them up, his tongue curling over muscles and skin. Blaine watches him, both jealous and helplessly aroused at the sinuous twisting of Kurt’s body as he slinks further down, finally tugging Sebastian’s pants down and drawing a single line of honey up the underside of his cock before sitting back, admiring his handiwork while he licks the remainder from his fingers.

“You little minx--” Sebastian gasps, rocking his hips up to seek friction. 

“Patience, Master,” Kurt teases, and watches for a moment more before he turns and looks at Blaine.

Blaine smiles at him, hoping he looks encouraging and approving rather than the mess of confusion he really is. He must fail on some level--Kurt mouths,  _ I’m sorry _ , and blows a little kiss at him. Blaine shakes his head and huffs out a laugh at how silly he’s being. Kurt’s just doing his job.

_ It’s okay _ , he mouths back, smiling and nodding.  _ I love you. _   
  
_ Love you, too _ , is the silent reply, before he turns and leans down, his mouth hovering inches above Sebastian’s cock.   
  
Both his arousal and his desperate wish to be in Sebastian’s place increase exponentially as Kurt sinks down, his mouth sucking the honey from Sebastian’s straining cock, tongue dancing wicked steps along the sticky length. His lips quickly shine red as he bobs, and Blaine is torn between watching them stretch and tense and watching Kurt’s eyes, which flicker back to him periodically with a wicked gleam. Blaine hips long to thrust up into Kurt’s mouth, and he hopes Sebastian is done with them for the night after this so that he can experience it firsthand, replacing the taste of honey and another man with his own.

He can’t mark Kurt permanently, of course. But he can find little ways to stake his claim, even as he feels like a neanderthal for being so possessive. It’s not so much that Kurt is with another man at all--no, if Kurt really wanted it, he’d find a way to be okay with it. It’s that Kurt is not his before anyone else. Emotionally, yes, but physically--Blaine still has to relinquish that privilege. And through that, some atavistic need arises in him to keep, to  _ own _ . He just can’t help it--knowing that Kurt will be only his soon enough is driving its way into his brain, and he can’t let go of the longing for that day.

Still. Kurt looks like he could give Blaine a lesson in sucking dick now, and Blaine’s own cock rises at the sight of it, his jaw dropped and his eyes locked onto the show.

Sebastian falls apart quickly, hands threading into Kurt’s hair, his head thrown back, the ribbon shining as the light hits it. He gasps for air with every move Kurt makes, a flush creeping down his chest, and it’s not long before his hands scrabble at the ribbon, ripping it from his eyes to watch as he comes into Kurt’s mouth, shoulders hunching and stomach seizing with the strength of his orgasm.

Blaine watches closely as Kurt takes it, swallowing easily. And then the claw of jealousy is back, along with a bit of regret, because he wasn’t the one to teach that to Kurt--he’d completely forgotten to mention swallowing, and he’d never sucked Blaine off and finished it--they’d always moved onto other things. He must have picked it up with Sebastian, and Blaine envies Sebastian for being the one to take that first, to teach him that when Blaine should’ve been the one to do it.

Soon. Soon they won’t have to deal with it.

Kurt glances up at Sebastian after licking him and making sure the honey and come are cleaned off. His cheeks and lips are bright red, his eyes glazed a little, his cock hard and testing the seams of his briefs, outlined beautifully by the clingy fabric. 

As soon as he sees Sebastian’s face, however, he looks back at Blaine, his eyes full of fear.

Blaine looks up.

Sebastian is staring right at him, his gaze calculating as he analyzes Blaine’s face. Blaine keeps his eyes low, deferential, his expression neutral as he lets Sebastian look him over. His heart races, too loud in his ears as he waits, knowing that yet again Sebastian has caught him.

He feels the phantom of a whip stroking his back, a nightmare that could soon be a reality, and his skin breaks out into goosebumps, shivering over his body in waves of cold and terror.

“Did you like what you saw?”

Blaine pauses, flicking his eyes up through his lashes at Sebastian. His master is smirking, his eyes dark and blown with lust. He knows the look--he’s seen it often enough. And it’s exactly what he needs to save him and Kurt both.

“What pleases you, pleases me, Master,” he says softly. “I can see you enjoyed your slave.”

Sebastian looks between them slowly, his smirk growing as he contemplates them. Finally, he grabs Kurt by tie, pulling him in for a hard kiss before spinning him around in his arms. Kurt goes without resistance, relaxing between Sebastian’s legs and showing off, playing along with admirable calm as Sebastian begins to stroke over his chest with his fingertips.

“Do you find him attractive?”

Blaine looks Kurt over, following Sebastian’s clear invitation. Kurt stares at him hard, searching, and Blaine tries to ease out the tension in his body, erase the signs of fear from himself so that Kurt can be reassured. He makes no effort to hide the way his eyes rake over Kurt’s body, following the paths that Sebastian draws with his hands, before he looks up again.

“You have impeccable taste, Master,” Blaine admits. “Your slaves are of the highest quality. He is very beautiful.”

“Mmm, he is,” Sebastian agrees. “As are you. I wonder how you’d look together.”

Blaine feels like he’s resisting a spell that would turn him to stone. Sebastian’s gaze is the gaze of a basilisk, seeking to destroy him, smiling sly and serpentine as he waits for Blaine to look into his eyes and so forfeit his life. But Blaine remains frozen, eyes low, waiting.

“Both of you are to come to my rooms tonight,” Sebastian commands. “As soon as possible. Go and prep yourselves, both of you...just in case.”

He rises, ignoring his discarded shirt and hitching up the pants from his thighs, leaving them loose around his hips as he ambles out. Blaine and Kurt look to each other, eyes locking. Kurt’s are wide and scared.

“Come on,” Blaine says, standing up and holding out his hand for Kurt to take. “Let’s go get ready.”

Kurt takes his hand and stands up, removing Sebastian’s tie from around his neck and throwing it down disgustedly, as though sick of feeling something of Sebastian’s against his skin. He crosses his arms and rubs his upper arms with his hands, shivering a little.

“Let’s go,” he says, taking the lead and walking out quickly, tense and jerky in his movements. Blaine follows, jogging to keep up with Kurt’s long strides.

When they reach the harem, Kurt strides right into his room. Blaine hurries behind him, waving off the boys on the couch, who stare as they go by. He follows Kurt in and closes the door behind them, immediately pulling Kurt into his arms.

Kurt hides in Blaine. There’s no other word for it. He presses his face into Blaine’s neck, bows his torso into Blaine’s, his arms still trapped between them, holding himself as Blaine tries to hold him together. His legs tremble against Blaine’s, feet nudging together as they stand close enough to fuse--in appearance if not in reality as, in that moment, they would wish.

“It’s going to be okay,” Blaine says, rubbing Kurt’s back with his hands to warm the cool skin. “We can do this--we’ll be together, we’ll--”

“We’ll be sharing what we have with  _ him _ ,” Kurt snaps. “He’s...he’s intruding, he’s--”

“He can’t touch us,” Blaine insists. “That’s what you said. He can’t touch what we have. You’re right, he can’t. Not if we don’t let him.”

Kurt lifts his head and Blaine catches his breath at the full force of his eyes. There shouldn’t be eyes like that in the world--they’re too stunning, and Blaine feels like Kurt is peeling back who he is and leaving his mark over every layer. He’s lost, so lost in love with this incredible person in his arms.

“We can enjoy this,” Blaine continues. “Sebastian is just a body--we can enjoy how that feels. He isn’t going to come between us, not really.”

“I won’t be able to say that I love you,” Kurt says. “I won’t be able to show it.”

“No,” Blaine admits. “We’ll have to pretend. We’ll have to pretend we’ve never been together, and we’ll have to pretend we mean nothing to each other. And that’ll be tough, but we’ll survive it.” He looks earnestly into Kurt’s eyes and smiles, showing Kurt everything he feels. “We’ll come right back here afterward and we’ll say everything we wanted to say. Everything we couldn’t say. Okay?”

Kurt nods, wiping his eyes.

“Now,” Blaine says, smirking a little. “We have to get ready. And I for one am looking forward to getting my hands into those briefs you’re wearing.”

Kurt’s eyes narrow a little, his lips parting just as Blaine leans in to claim them, tongue sweeping along their seam before drawing back and leading Kurt to the bed.

They prep each other eagerly, kissing, rutting together with arms wrapped around each other, stretching and thrusting fingers into tight heat until it loosens. By the time they’re done, they’re both panting and desperate, clutching at each other and losing rhythm.

“I’m so close,” Kurt grits out, and Blaine kisses him, trying to pull back.

“Come on,” Blaine says, reaching down a hand to wrap around both of them, stroking fast. “Come for me.”

Kurt tenses up and obeys, coming over Blaine’s fist and cock, and Blaine follows, mouth open against Kurt’s own.

“We have to clean up and get going,” Blaine says when they’ve caught their breath. He rolls away with a last kiss. “Come on.”

\--

Sebastian gets right down to business as soon as they join him--Kurt in his red briefs, Blaine donning a black pair. Sebastian wears nothing.

“I want you two on the bed,” he instructs, standing to the side and watching as they obey, both reclining on either side, facing in, as though expecting Sebastian to take a place between them. But Sebastian shakes his head and pulls a chair from his table, settling it near the foot of the bed, just to one side.

“I want to watch,” he says, settling himself in, stroking his half-hard cock and roving his eyes over them. Blaine smiles down at him and then over at Kurt, waiting, expectant.

“Kiss him,” Sebastian says, nodding to Kurt. Blaine nods in return, shifting in closer and pressing Kurt onto his back before leaning in tentatively, kissing him with as much uncertainty as he can muster.

Kurt sighs into the kiss, and it deepens gradually. Their hands begin to roam, and it’s almost like they’re really discovering how the other feels for the first time. Blaine skin feels ridiculously sensitive, tingling with anticipation of where Kurt will touch next, wanting his hands everywhere at once.

He takes a moment to peek back at Sebastian. He’s still leaning back in the chair, idly palming his erection, eyes hungry on them. Blaine grins when he catches Sebastian’s eye, playfully winking before he swings his left leg over Kurt’s hips, straddling him and rolling his hips, dragging the bulge in the front of his briefs along Kurt’s own, right in Sebastian’s eyeline.

Kurt groans, bucking up in a stuttering motion, seeking more friction.

“Undress each other.”

They follow orders, Kurt tugging down Blaine’s underwear first, quick and dirty. But Blaine knows what Sebastian likes, and he pulls back.

“Turn over,” he whispers to Kurt, moving to the side so Kurt has room to roll onto his belly. As soon as he settles, Blaine straddles his thighs, kissing at his shoulders and the back of his neck, nipping lightly and staring back at Sebastian as much as possible to maintain focus.

Sebastian seems pleased by his actions, the corners of his mouth turning up as Blaine slides lower, peeling back the briefs like he’d wanted to earlier, mouthing at the sweet, pale flesh of Kurt’s cheeks inch by inch.

He quirks an eyebrow at his master, running his thumbs along the swell of Kurt’s ass, right along the edges of his crack. Sebastian nods, granting his allowance.

Blaine turns in and puts his attention entirely on Kurt. He spreads Kurt wide, breath coming short at the sight. Kurt’s hole is a dark pink, still slick and tender from their earlier ministrations. It clenches sporadically as Kurt’s hips wriggle in anticipation, his whines drifting down to Blaine’s ears.

He dives in full-force, laving his tongue flat over the sweet pucker several times before licking at it directly, swirling the tip in a spiral that ends with a stiff prod inside, just slipping past the stretched muscle. Kurt pushes back, babbling above him, and he pulls back just enough to leave kisses everywhere but where Kurt wants, his thumbs stroking at the edges as his palms squeeze lightly at the rounds of Kurt’s ass.

“Please, please--”

“Tell him what you want,” Sebastian orders, sounding breathless.

“Fuck me,” Kurt begs. “I want to be fucked, please--”

Blaine continues his teasing, licking lightly and leaving little sucking kisses over his hole, never pressing too hard or giving in to Kurt’s writhing attempts to take what he wants.

He feels the bed dip behind him, and suddenly, Sebastian’s leaning over him, his cock brushing against Blaine’s thigh. His breath is hot and quick in Blaine’s ear, and he pauses to listen.

“Do you want to fuck him?”

Blaine ruts against the bed automatically, trying to ease the pulsing need in his groin. Sebastian laughs lightly.

“You can,” he continues, his hands joining Blaine’s on Kurt’s ass, spreading his cheeks wide. Kurt whines and his legs part further, his need obvious. Blaine licks his lips, chasing the taste of Kurt as he stares at him, open and vulnerable and waiting. “You can fuck that tight, sweet little hole--”

“Please, now,” Kurt says, his voice thready. He arches his back, presenting himself, and Blaine has to stop himself from rubbing off against the bed while he watches it. “Someone--just  _ fuck  _ me--”

“Go ahead,” Sebastian encourages, slapping Blaine’s ass sharply. He leans over to the bedside table and pulls out a condom and the bottle of lube, tossing the condom before Blaine. Blaine rears up and scrambles to open it, sheathing himself as quickly as he can while Sebastian shoves three lubed fingers into Kurt, drawing a high wail from him before he pulls right back out. He teases down along Kurt’s balls, smirking as he says, “Turn over.”

Kurt flips over, eyes still closed, panting and quivering against the mattress. He reaches down and palms himself, smearing precome over the swollen red tip and biting his lip at the feeling. He’s beautiful and wanton and Blaine wants so badly to just ravish him, but Sebastian slides behind him and presses up against his back.

“Fuck him up against the headboard,” Sebastian says, loud enough for Kurt to hear as well. Kurt immediately pushes himself up the bed, shoving aside the pillows as he goes, finally sitting straight up against the headboard, his head tilted back, his legs parting to the sides in clear invitation. Blaine’s mouth waters at the display, and he moans as Sebastian’s hand sneaks around and slicks him with lube as he whispers right into Blaine’s ear.

“Go on,” he urges. “He was  _ born _ to take cock, so make it good.”

Blaine crawls up the bed, eyes locked with Kurt’s. Kurt moves for him and he lifts Kurt onto his lap, gripping around his thighs and keeping them wide as he positions himself, his own knees wide to hold them steady.

“Are you okay?” he whispers, pausing to position Kurt’s legs around his hips.

“Yes,” Kurt replies. “Please, just...keep going.”

Blaine nods and lines himself up before pushing in, ignoring Sebastian’s suggestion to watch Kurt swallowing up his cock in favor of watching the fluttering of his eyelashes, the tremble of his lips, as he stretches and bears down. When he’s halfway in, Blaine releases himself and grabs Kurt’s hips, tugging him slowly but firmly until he’s seated entirely, ass pressed hard against Blaine’s thighs.

“C’mon,” Kurt says, nails digging into Blaine’s shoulders. “Fuck me, come on.”

Blaine leans back on one arm for leverage and does as Kurt says, thrusting up into Kurt hard. Kurt jolts, grunting with the impact, a quick  _ yes _ falling from his lips as Blaine pulls back and does it again--slowly, but with a force that almost lifts Kurt from the bed.

Sebastian reaches around Blaine and pushes Kurt back, settling his shoulders against the headboard. Kurt reaches up and grasps the top of it, his arms tensing above his head. His entire body is on perfect display, bouncing with Blaine’s quickening movements, long and tight and hot beneath Blaine’s hand stroking over his stomach and chest, teasing him. Kurt is the sexiest Blaine’s ever seen like this, spread and willing and open, back arching and chest flushed down to his hardened nipples. And then Sebastian lifts Kurt’s legs up, settling his thighs against Blaine’s chest, his calves resting over Blaine’s shoulders, and Blaine grips Kurt’s hips, leans forward, and finds his angle, pounding hard and letting Kurt’s growing cries fill his ears.

Suddenly, Sebastian’s moving, leaving his place behind Blaine to shift between them, standing up and straddling over Kurt, blocking Blaine’s view of Kurt folded up and taking his cock. It’s probably for the best--he can barely remember the details of the past several minutes, his mind only able to recall the perfect feeling of Kurt around him, his face and the sounds he makes and the feeling of his skin. He’d ignored Sebastian completely.

He decides to make up for it, and hopefully blot out his mistake. He hears Sebastian gasping, his back and legs tensing.

“Yeah, suck my cock,” he says, and then Kurt’s hands slide around, cupping Sebastian’s ass.

Blaine reaches up and lays his hands over Kurt’s, squeezing them in reassurance before he guides them to pull Sebastian’s cheeks apart. He leans in, and gives Sebastian the same treatment he gave Kurt before, licking him firmly, albeit with less enthusiasm.

Sebastian bores quickly, though. Before long, he stops thrusting between the two mouths on his body and moves away completely, grabbing the lube and kneeling behind Blaine again. There’s a quiet moment, and then Blaine feels Sebastian positioning him. He goes with it, leaning down into the cradle of Kurt’s legs, spreading his legs and pausing the rocking of his hips. There’s a blunt pressure, and then Sebastian breaches him, pushing in roughly, plastering himself against Blaine’s back, biting at his shoulder.

“Mine,” he rasps, pulling back and thrusting in again, sending Blaine fully into Kurt again. He and Kurt both gasp at the feeling, but Sebastian continues gritting out words into his ear. “Mine, you’re mine.”

There’s so much skin. It’s hot and sweaty and wonderful, two bodies struggling along his own, breath and moans and slapping skin filling the air with sound. Blaine fills and is filled, clutched at by two sets of hands, legs and arms wrapping around him and squeezing him. Sebastian periodically raises a hand and brings it down hard on his ass, and Kurt’s nails bite into his biceps. By all accounts, he should be overwhelmed by the sensations.

But he’s not. It’s only background noise. The only thing that feels real is the way Kurt looks at him, the way Kurt feel beneath his hands, the way Kurt clenches around him when he pulls back, the truly dirty sight of Kurt’s cock bouncing up against his own stomach in time with the snapping of Blaine’s hips. His own body feels distant, Sebastian’s even further away, and only where he touches Kurt does he feel like he’s truly here.

So he touches everything he can, finally reaching down with one hand and grabbing Kurt’s cock, circling it tightly and stroking hard. Kurt cries out and scrabbles at the sheets.

“Fuck, you’re gonna make me come,” he declares, laying back and letting it happen, and Blaine stares into his eyes as Kurt clenches around him, hot ropes of come shooting up his stomach, the sensation stirring the fire in Blaine himself, and it hits him how close he is.

“Me too,” he gasps, and Sebastian’s arms wind around him and pull him back, out of Kurt and up onto Sebastian’s lap, legs spread and back bowed as Sebastian slams up into him, biting onto his shoulder again hard. Kurt sits up and grabs Blaine’s cock at the base, pulling off the condom and flinging it aside before sinking down over him, sucking hard. Blaine shouts in surprise and comes hard, Kurt’s throat closing around him as he spills.

A few thrusts more, and Sebastian stills, hands pressing into Blaine with bruising strength, leaving a deep ache where his fingers clench around Blaine’s ribs. He comes without a sound, and before Blaine’s even aware of it, he’s out, leaving Blaine filled with his come.

“You’re both dismissed,” Sebastian says, patting Blaine’s sore rear sharply enough to sting, falling down onto the bed, shoving a pillow beneath his head. He waves them off, closing his eyes and smiling faintly. “I’ll have Kurt by himself in the morning.”

With a quick glance at each other, they rise, picking up their underwear and dressing before slipping away, closing the door behind them.

As soon as they return to the harem, with only a quick stop to inform a house slave that Sebastian’s room needs to be cleaned, they head to the bathhouse. They shower themselves off before slipping into the warm water, their hands joining beneath the water as they wait to see if anyone else will join them.

“Was that a little weird?” Kurt asks. His eyes rove over Blaine’s body, taking in the array of marks decorating his skin. He reaches out tentatively, brushing over them as lightly as he can, grimacing.

Blaine sighs and runs a hand through his curls, letting Kurt study him.

“It was,” he says. “I’m not sure what Sebastian was thinking at all, but...I’m guessing he got jealous at the end.”

He shifts, wincing as he feels Kurt check the abuse Sebastian left over his body--teeth marks on his shoulder, bruises on his ribs, red stinging handprints on his ass, and a deep ache from his cock. 

“I think he was angry that I was fucking you.”

“He’s the one that ordered it!” Kurt protests, indignant.

Blaine shrugs.

“Doesn’t mean he didn’t get jealous when he saw you enjoying yourself so much,” Blaine replies. “We’ll just have to be careful not to seem too close for a while, I think. At least around him.”

Kurt sighs deeply.

“Okay,” he says. “Not like we’re around him together much anyway. We can still be together here.”

He presses into Blaine’s waiting arms, his eyes carefully keeping the door to the harem in sight as they relax together, holding each other close for just this moment.

“I want to go to bed,” Kurt says. “I want you to really hold me.”

“Okay,” Blaine agrees. “Let’s go, then.”

\--

Jesse knocks as loudly as he can, half-convinced Sebastian will be asleep already. But he’s lucky--at the call to enter, Sebastian is obviously fully awake, lounging on his bed easily, clearly amidst the wreckage of a fuck.

“Do you have it?” he asks. Jesse nods, stepping forward and handing Sebastian two thumb drives.

“He was hiding his in the space behind his electrical socket,” Jesse says. “And I got the recordings off of the boy’s laptop. I think it has everything you’ll need.”

Sebastian looks at the drives and nods carefully.

“Good work,” he says. “I’ll discuss rewards for you and Hunter another day. You’ve done well. I’ll take it from here.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains graphic scenes of torture and violence. Proceed with caution.

Blaine slides home, sheathed entirely in Kurt, his body wrapped up in his limbs and his heat, his forehead resting down against Kurt’s. He breathes out as he settles, and when he inhales again Kurt’s mouth follows the air, their lips sinking into familiar connections.

They move slowly, barely pulling away before they collide again, gentle and sure. Everytime Blaine pulls back, he feels Kurt struggling to keep him in, his muscles clinging to whatever he can reach, to every inch of Blaine. Blaine is only too happy to return, taking his time and relaxing down onto his elbows, hands stroking over Kurt’s cheeks and neck and hair, smoothing away beading sweat and absorbing the velveteen feeling of Kurt’s skin.   
  
“Are you mine?” Kurt asks, his voice tremulous and high, his eyes flickering between Blaine’s own, as though looking for the truth between them. Blaine kisses his forehead sweetly.   
  
“Yours,” he says, resisting the urging of Kurt’s heels on his lower back, maintaining his drowsy pace and savoring the feeling of Kurt clenching around him.   
  
“Tell--tell me about after,” Kurt pleads, stammering and thrashing beneath Blaine, pulling him in and trying to quicken his thrusting. “What will it be like when we leave?”   
  
“We’ll be able to do this whenever we want,” Blaine whispers. “We’ll be able to hold hands, and kiss, and hold each other, and no one will come between us. No Sebastian. No slavery. Just us.”   
  
“Please--Blaine, I need you--”   
  
“Shhh,” Blaine says, kissing Kurt’s lips. “We’ll find a new place to live. We’ll get a house and we’ll have our own bed and you’ll finish school. I’ll get a job and we’ll cook dinner together every night, and you’ll yell at me for making you dance in the kitchen, but you’ll secretly love it. And then you’ll get a job at a fashion house or a magazine or in a theater, and every night we’ll relax in the bath and I’ll rub your back and we’ll talk about our days. And I’ll kiss you everytime you get close to me and we’ll make love before we go to sleep, and when we wake up, and we’ll sneak out at lunch and make out and hope we don’t get caught by our bosses. Your dad will visit for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and we’ll have our friends over for drinks on the weekends. I’ll beg you for a dog and you’ll keep saying no. And one day I’ll buy a ring and I’ll try to plan the perfect proposal but I’ll end up just blurting it out one night when we’re right in the middle of having sex and you’ll tease me before you say yes. And we’ll be happy.”   
  
Kurt nods, pressing his eyes against Blaine’s neck, and Blaine feels a wet warmth trickling down from them.   
  
“I want that,” Kurt admits, holding Blaine hard. “I want it so much.”   
  
“We’ll have it,” Blaine promises. “Even if I have to bribe someone to give me a fake identity and you have to call me Barney for the rest of our lives--”   
  
Kurt laughs and looks up at Blaine, his eyes red and shining.   
  
“When?” he asks brokenly. “When can we have it? I don’t know how much longer I can take this. I feel like he’s getting to me--”   
  
“He isn’t,” Blaine assures, his hands drifting down Kurt’s chest and sides before settling on his tiny waist. “He can’t get you. Just remember  _ this _ \--” He squeezes Kurt’s sides. “Remember you’re really mine.”   
  
He finally speeds his hips, and Kurt sobs and throws his head back, matching Blaine’s movements, undulating under him and seeking what he needs. Blaine gives him all he can, pulling him down when he slides up the bed, gripping his thighs and making him bite down against a scream when he finds the perfect angle.   
  
“Love you,” Kurt gasps, tensing more and more with each jolt. “God, I love you, Blaine, love you-- _ ah! _ ”   
  
He comes between them, smearing both of their stomachs with white, and Blaine kisses him and swallows the sounds he makes and he fucks him through it, slowing down to a crawl once more, hips pumping steadily through Kurt’s oversensitivity, his ears straining to hear the perfect little whimpers that Kurt tries to hide.   
  
“I love you too,” Blaine says, into the darkness in Kurt’s eyes when he recovers and starts moaning again. “We’ll have it soon. I promise.”   
  
\--   
  
The next morning, Blaine has a churning feeling in his stomach as he stands in the bathroom and listens to Sebastian’s groans as Kurt wakes him. He’s tired, certainly--he and Kurt had been up half the night making love, and he’d been unable to join Kurt in sleep afterward for the plans swirling in his head. So he’d held Kurt, and watched the little movements of his eyes as he dreamed, the flutter of his lashes and the twitch of his mouth. He’d wondered what Kurt was dreaming, making up stories of their future that he hopes Kurt is seeing. He’d drifted off at one point, but not for long--the alarm woke them and it was time to get ready for their master.   
  
He hadn’t watched as Kurt crawled onto the bed and started to serve Sebastian, instead heading straight for the bathroom, setting up hurriedly. Something in him wants to get this day over with as quickly as possible, and waiting now is a torture that has him fidgeting until he hears Sebastian speaking and has to compose himself for Sebastian’s entrance.   
  
“Busy day today,” Sebastian says as he walks in and sinks into the tub with a satisfied sigh. “I’m going to need several things from you--”   
  
Blaine relaxes as he memorizes Sebastian’s schedule and what paperwork he’ll need. There’s a new shipment of slaves ready from one of Sebastian’s farms up in Maine, and Sebastian wants to look over them, as well as the progress reports from the other farms. It’s a lot to process, and Blaine will have to work with Trent to get it in order for Sebastian to peruse later.   
  
“I’ll need you in my office at noon,” Sebastian says in conclusion, as Blaine finishes straightening out his unusually casual clothes--a pair of loose jeans and a t-shirt he selected himself, rather than the jacket and tie combination that Blaine chooses. The weird feeling in his gut returns, having been assuaged by the tedium of memorizing a normal day for his master. It hits him full force, sending a wave of nausea through him.   
  
Maybe he needs to eat something. He and Kurt barely ate the night before.   
  
“You’re dismissed.”   
  
Sebastian strides out, and Blaine follows at a more sedate pace, feeling as though he might actually be dragging his feet for how heavy and exhausted he feels.   
  
It was worth it, though. It was worth every second, to make love to Kurt and dream and talk and lie with him, and to watch him in the only place he feels safe.   
  
He finishes with the paperwork for the morning late, with only about an hour to spare before he has to go to Sebastian. He hurries back to the harem, intending to find Kurt and shovel down some lunch with him before he’s needed.   
  
But he can’t find Kurt.   
  
He’s not in his room or the bathhouse, or Blaine’s own room. He checks the kitchen, and then heads out to the gym, where he runs into Nick using the pool.   
  
“Is Kurt here?” he asks.   
  
“No,” Nick says. “I thought he was with you.”   
  
“I just got back from the normal business,” he clarifies. “I haven’t seen him since he was waking Sebastian up; he left before I came back out. It’s been hours since he should’ve returned.”   
  
“I don’t know,” Nick replies. He hangs onto the edge of the pool, wiping water from his face. He looks up at Blaine, concerned. “I haven’t seen him.”   
  
“Where’s Jeff?” he asks. Maybe Nick just missed Kurt, maybe they managed to just pass each other by--   
  
“In bed, he’s not feeling well.” Nick shakes his head and starts to rise from the pool. “Look, Blaine--”   
  
“Could Kurt be with him?”   
  
Nick’s brow furrows, and his expression is questioning.   
  
“I don’t know, Blaine, he wasn’t when I left, but he could’ve since. Is something going on--”   
  
“I’ll go check,” Blaine says, his worry overriding his manners. “If you see him, let him know I’m looking for him? I’m going to Sebastian’s office soon, but if I don’t catch him by then, I shouldn’t be long.”   
  
\--   
  
Kurt’s not in Jeff’s room either.   
  
He’s not with Jesse or with Hunter, both of whom all but ignore him when he asks. The only thing he gets is out of Jesse, and it sends a bolt of fear through him.   
  
“Maybe he’s where he should be,” he says, and leaves it at that, heading out of the harem with a smug glance but no other words.   
  
There’s something very wrong.   
  
Blaine heads to Sebastian’s office early. He can’t stand this uncertainty, this dread, and maybe Sebastian will know where Kurt is. Maybe he sent him on an errand and just didn’t say anything, maybe--   
  
“Please, no-- _ ahhh! _ ”   
  
Kurt’s voice rises from behind the door of the office. It is accompanied by a sharp sound that Blaine recognizes all too well--a faint whistle, followed by a  _ crack _ .   
  
Blaine tries the doorknob. It’s locked, so he takes the only option available to him, knowing that he’d never be able to bash the heavy door in. He knocks.   
  
“Ah, Blaine,” Sebastian says, opening the door. “Right on time.”   
  
He pulls Blaine in by the arm and shuts the door behind them, locking it firmly. And then, before he can take in the room, he’s dragged behind the desk and shoved into the chair. He falls back, gripping the arms of the chair to steady himself as he lands, his bottom aching where it hits. And then he sees what’s in front of him.   
  
Kurt is kneeling on the floor in front of him, facing him, still only dressed in the briefs he wore to wake Sebastian that morning. His wrists are tied to his ankles, and he’s hunched over as far as he can go, his head bowed toward the floor, and Blaine suspects that he’s only upright because his arms restricted like that keep him from tipping over completely. He’s completely drenched with sweat, drops of it falling from his hair when Sebastian walks by him and lands a kick on his thigh, jolting him and ripping a pained groan out of him. He doesn’t lift his head; he seems incapable. And when Sebastian takes up a stance behind him, whip in hand, Blaine realizes why.   
  
He can’t see Kurt’s back very well, but he can see just down his shoulders. They’re crossed with welts, most of them placed with enough skill that the skin is a hard, red, raised ridge, but Blaine can see at least one place where the skin has broken, a tiny trickle of blood beading from the wound.   
  
He didn’t walk in on the first strike, or the second, or any of dozens of others. He didn’t stride in just in time to save Kurt from the agony. And Kurt has been missing for  _ hours _ .   
  
_ Oh god _ , he thinks, and it’s a constant litany of pure horror running through his veins.  His vision blurs around the edges, his ears roaring with the phantoms of screaming and his mouth drying against an intrusion that only exists in memory. _ Oh god oh god ohgodohgodohgod no nononono-- _   
  
“Kurt,” he whispers, rocking forward, intending to bolt from the chair, but Sebastian raises the whip.   
  
“Ah, ah,” he chides. “No, you’ll sit down. Or I might get a little sloppy with my strokes. How do you think he’d take it if I exposed his spine?”   
  
Blaine sits back slowly, deliberately, raising his hands when he settles and trying to catch his breath. It’s obvious they’ve been caught--Blaine has never seen Sebastian employ the whip himself, preferring far more personal and intimate means of punishment that require less recovery time, at least physically. But he doesn’t need to care for recovery time here. It’s expected that he’ll sell the temptation of his favorite.   
  
But why is Kurt the one under the lash? Why is Blaine not the one knelt over and barely conscious from the pain? Why is he being treated like the favorite again?   
  
“Master,” he says, entreating, “what’s going on?”   
  
Sebastian lowers the whip, but he keeps it tense at his side.   
  
“You love him.”   
  
The little prickle of fear that’s been with him since he gave in to Kurt washes over his body, stabbing him like a thousand shards of ice, embedding in his skin and sinking to his bones.   
  
They’ve been caught.   
  
“Admit it,” Sebastian snarls. “Admit you love him.”   
  
“Master,” Blaine breathes, hoping he can save the situation, even through his confusion. “I love only--”   
  
“Him!” Sebastian interrupts. “You love him. You think I don’t know?”   
  
He nods to the desk, and Blaine turns to look.   
  
Sebastian’s computer is on, and there’s a video waiting, paused.   
  
“Hit play.”   
  
Blaine follows Sebastian’s instruction, clicking the little triangle carefully. The video starts, the timer on the bottom about halfway through.   
  
_ Kurt sits in the desk chair in what Blaine recognizes to be his own room. Blaine is bending down behind him, whispering in his ear. _   
  
_ “ _ \-- _ do you think of that?” _ he hears coming from his own mouth, just the day before. And he remembers it all too well.  _ “Do you want me like that?” _   
  
_ “Yes,” _ _Kurt gasps, his face flushing, his eyes glazed. Blaine hand slides down his torso and starts working below the frame of the video._   
  
_ Blaine pulls Kurt’s chair out a bit after a long moment filled with high little noises from Kurt’s mouth, and slips in front of him, kneeling. _   
  
_ “Keep watching,” Blaine instructs.  _   
  
There’s a rustle, and Blaine recalls pulling down Kurt’s underwear at this point, his cock springing free. He’d licked his own lips, and then--   
  
_ “Love you,” he says, and Kurt’s mouth falls open as Blaine’s head sinks. _   
  
Sebastian is in front of him, pausing the video and looming over him.   
  
“You can’t lie to me anymore, Blaine,” Sebastian says. “You love him. We both heard it clear as day. And you can’t tell me this time that it was in the heat of the moment like with that floppy-haired mess I took care of last time. You never planned to  _ escape _ with  _ him _ .”   
  
He pulls the thumb drive from the computer and tosses it aside violently, and Blaine flinches as he hears it snap against the wall. Sebastian leans down, invading his space, his face inches from Blaine’s own. Blaine shivers, a flash of Sebastian’s cock plunging into his mouth as he listens to his lover’s cries burning behind his eyes, and he shivers.   
  
Will Sebastian make him kneel before him while he whips Kurt? Will Blaine have to actually feel the leather cutting through the air above him before it cuts into Kurt’s flesh? Will he be gagged against mimicking Kurt’s cries of pain, while Sebastian rips his soul just as easily as though it were beneath the whip instead?   
  
“You shouldn’t have done this,” Sebastian repeats. “Did you really think your feeble plan would work? Did you think I wouldn’t catch you?”   
  
He grips Blaine’s chin with one hand and tilts it up, locking eyes with Blaine.   
  
“You. Are. Mine.” He tugs Blaine’s chin with every word, shaking him. “I thought I taught you that years ago. But it appears you forgot the lesson.”   
  
Sebastian kisses him, biting his bottom lip brutally. Blaine cries out in pain, pulling back, and Sebastian lets him go, circling back to Kurt.   
  
“You would do well to watch closely,” he says. “Maybe this time the truth will  _ stick _ .”   
  
With the final word, he lashes out with the whip, laying it across Kurt’s back once more with a loud crack. Kurt’s head snaps up and he cries out, his face contorted in pain, his mouth open to catch breaths that are harder and harder to take. Blaine shifts in his chair again, wanting with everything he is to go to him and hide him from the abuse.   
  
But Sebastian has the power right now. He could land a blow that would incapacitate Kurt further, maybe even injure him permanently. He knows that Sebastian knows what he’s doing--all slave dealers are trained with the whip, to leave the most effective scars on the work slaves, or to strike delicate but intensely painful welts that never leave a permanent mark on the pricey bodies of bed slaves. Sebastian could easily write off Kurt as a loss and switch to the former technique anytime he wants, and Blaine might just have the power to prevent that, at the very least.   
  
“Master, please,” Blaine begs. “I only--”   
  
“Stop,” Sebastian says. “Whatever comes out of your mouth is going to be a lie, isn’t it? It was last time. Otherwise, this wouldn’t have  _ happened _ !”   
  
He snaps the whip again, and Kurt cries out. Blaine finds himself standing, before he can even think about the action and its possible consequences.   
  
“Stop!” he cries. “Sebastian, please.”   
  
Sebastian’s eyes widen at the use of his name, and he stares at Blaine. Blaine stares right back, his hands up placatingly.   
  
“Sebastian, I’m sorry,” he says softly. “I never meant to hurt you. I didn’t know you still wanted me.” He gathers himself. “If I’d known, I wouldn’t have sought his comfort.”   
  
“I don’t believe you,” Sebastian snaps.   
  
“It’s true,” Blaine insists. “I thought you were done with me. You’ve had many favorites over the years, I thought you’d...forgotten me.”   
  
“And yet I kept you,” Sebastian says, and his voice is still firm, but there’s a little bit of doubt sneaking into his expression. “Your words are pretty, Blaine, but they’re sloppy--”   
  
“I thought I was useful,” Blaine says, and this, at least, is very true. “I thought you kept me because I was good at running the harem and I saved you the time and effort. You stopped using me regularly, and I thought you’d moved on.”   
  
Sebastian lowers the whip and walks over to him, his eyes intense on Blaine’s own. He crowds into Blaine and Blaine resists the urge to back away, instead forcing himself to relax into the proximity. He can do his best to play into Sebastian’s feelings for him, whatever they are. He can  _ use _ this; even though the lies are hard to tell, and they feel like they’re taking a piece of his soul with them every time they fall from his lips, he  _ has _ to. It could save Kurt. Pretending he wants Sebastian back could  _ save _ him.   
  
Because that’s what this is. It wasn’t Kurt--it was Blaine the whole time.   
  
“I could have anyone run the harem,” Sebastian says quietly, lifting his hand and running his thumb over Blaine’s lips. “There are professionals for that. You thought I kept you for  _ that? _ You--you are mine. You will always  _ be _ mine. And I think it’s time to remind you.”   
  
He wraps his other arm around Blaine’s back, the braided leather of the whip tickling against his ass and legs as it drapes from Sebastian’s hand. Blaine leans in, his right hand landing on the desk for what he hopes Sebastian sees as support.   
  
He crawls his fingers across the wood, seeking.   
  
“The trash behind me is going back to the harem,” Sebastian says, his breath hot against Blaine’s face. “He’ll be locked in his room until he heals, and then we’ll find a buyer for him so that you aren’t...tempted again. In the meantime, you will stay in my rooms, and we’ll spend as long as we have to in there making sure you understand again. You belong to me, and you will never love another.” His voice wavers for a moment, and he tugs at Blaine’s lower lip with his thumb, surprisingly tender as he studies the damage he did with his teeth. “Mine.”   
  
Blaine fingers brush metal, but he can’t get close enough, not without risking detection. He leans in and kisses Sebastian hard, spinning himself back against the desk, the wood digging into the flesh of his thighs.   
  
“Fuck me,” he begs quietly. “Here, now, please. Show me.”   
  
It works, and Sebastian grabs his thighs and lifts him onto the desk, spreading him open and shoving his tongue into Blaine’s mouth. Blaine sucks on it, arching his back and placing his hands behind himself, leaning back. Sebastian follows slowly, nails dragging up, leaving stinging lines of red up his ribs before he grabs Blaine’s jaw, forcing his head back and deepening their kiss hard enough to hurt.   
  
Blaine’s hand closes around the metal. He pulls back, tightening his thighs around Sebastian’s hips and holding him close.   
  
“Yours,” he whispers, and Sebastian almost smiles at him just as Blaine swings.   
  
The heavy hole-punch clips Sebastian’s head just above his ear, sending him stumbling back. He curses, looking up quickly.   
  
“You--”   
  
Blaine hops down and swings again, this time catching Sebastian right across the base of his skull. He drops heavily, and Blaine swings again, just in case, the metal singing when it collides with bone, this time laying open a gash that immediately trickles blood down through Sebastian’s hair. He drops the hole punch, grateful for the heavy quality of it, and runs over to Kurt.   
  
“Kurt, can you move?” he asks, cupping Kurt’s face. “How hurt are you?”   
  
He shifts over, panicking quite a bit over the past twenty minutes, and looks over Kurt’s back, his fingers working clumsily at the strong tape that holds his ankles and wrists together. He finally finds a tab and pulls, unwinding the tape as quickly as he can as he takes in the hard ridges crossing Kurt’s back.   
  
“Oh, Kurt,” he breathes, catching Kurt when he slumps over, finally freed. He’s breathing unsteadily, but he’s breathing, and his eyelashes flutter against his cheeks.   
  
“Blaine?” he asks, his voice faintly slurred. Blaine cups his cheeks and kisses him very gently.   
  
“I’m here, it’s okay,” Blaine whispers, struggling against the prickle of tears in his eyes. He wants so much to break down and cry and hold Kurt close right now, but he can’t yet--their plans, their escape, it all has to happen  _ now _ . “We’re leaving, Kurt, it’s time to go. Can you stand?”   
  
Kurt breathes for a moment before he nods, clutching at Blaine’s arms and straining to stand upright. He achieves it unsteadily, leaning heavily, but he’s up, and Blaine walks him to the chair, sitting him on the edge.   
  
“I need you to hold on for just a minute, okay?” Blaine says softly, as though speaking to a child. “Can you do that for me?”   
  
Kurt nods again, his fingers moving to grasp the edge of the chair, holding himself up. Blaine hovers for a moment, making sure he’s steady, before he rushes across the room, looking for the thumb drive that Sebastian threw. He finds it near a bookcase, still intact despite the impact against the wall. He rushes to the computer, plugging it in and checking it.   
  
It has several videos on it, but nothing of the evidence against Sebastian. And when he looks through the computer, the files are missing.   
  
“Damnit,” he curses, looking around. It’s too much to ask for the drive to be in the computer, and it isn’t, nor is it in any of the open drawers. But Sebastian wouldn’t just throw all that away--there were important documents, and he’d keep it all  _ somewhere _ .   
  
Blaine tugs at the two bottom drawers on the desk. They are locked, and a quick check of Sebastian reveals no key. He’s not prepared to break in like he wanted to be when they decided to leave--he has a little knife in his room that he could have used to help pick the lock with a paper clip. The only sharp object in the room is a letter opener, but it’s too big to fit in the tiny lock.   
  
So he improvises. The letter opener is an ornate, pretentious thing, styled to look like a jewelled dagger. It’s thick and heavy, the edge sharp. He tests the tip--it’s strong, but it almost cuts his finger. He takes it by the handle and, as quickly as he can, jimmies it into the negligible gap between the edge of the drawer and the desk itself.   
  
It’s not easy going. The opener still bends, but he manages to jam it in quite a bit before the pull of the lock stops it. It’s not perfect--there’s only a little gap--but Blaine thinks he’s strong enough to make it enough. The opener isn’t strong enough to pry open the drawer--but there might be something that is.   
  
He grabs the hole punch--it’s heavy, but the handle of it is a relatively thin edge. It almost fits behind the push of his arms, but it’s only when he stands and stomps on it that it wedges in completely. After that, it’s a matter of sweating and straining through tugging on the bottom edge until the wood starts to give. The entire time, Kurt’s breathing, loud but increasingly steady, is what gives Blaine the motivation to continue, even when it seems too hard. He finds himself working along with its rhythm, and soon enough--even though it feels like too long entirely--the drawer gives, the wood next to the lock splintering enough that Blaine can pull out the punch and use it as a bludgeon to remove the rest.   
  
The drawer contains some of what Blaine is looking for. A thumb drive, which, upon inspection, contains the files they’d gathered as well as other backup files from the computer that Blaine hadn’t been able to access. Beside that, over some file folders with hard copies of sales reports that Blaine leaves, there is a handgun--small, black, and powerful-looking, a full mag already loaded up. Blaine checks the safety and tucks it in his waistband, unsure of what else to do with it and hoping that he can figure it out based on his woeful education of watching television and movies and the minimum research he thought he could get away with on his own laptop.   
  
All he needs now is a car key, and there’s only one other locked drawer in the desk. He checks on Kurt, kissing him and whispering to him encouragingly before he turns and breaks through the bottom of the drawer he just broke into, reaching in and searching through the keys until he finds what he’s looking for--an old key, with a thick plastic head and jagged metal teeth instead of the sleek, straight lines of the newer electronic keys. It has no remote with it to open the locks or start the vehicle, and it’s just what Blaine needs.   
  
“Can you bear to wear a shirt?” Blaine asks. “It’ll be a little tight on you, but it shouldn’t hurt too much.”   
  
Kurt looks unsure.   
  
“I might,” he says truthfully, “but we’d have to go back to the harem, I don’t know--”   
  
“I wasn’t planning on going back to the harem,” Blaine says. “I was just going to steal Sebastian’s clothes and leave him here.”   
  
Kurt looks around for a moment. His mouth twists, and he considers for a moment before he sighs.   
  
“I think it would look suspicious if we were leaving with me in baggy jeans and a too-tight shirt,” Kurt says reasonably, and Blaine has to admire the level head he’s keeping--he is close to an all-out panic attack himself. “I think we  _ should _ return to the harem, act casual, and then we can head out like we planned. Even if it takes a little extra time.”   
  
Blaine kisses Kurt and smiles at him.   
  
“I’d be a wreck without you,” he says. “Let me tie him up and then we can go.”   
  
He grabs a roll of tape from the desk and binds Sebastian’s wrists and ankles tightly, not caring a whit if he cuts off all circulation. Maybe if Sebastian loses his fingers and toes, it’ll be some kind of retribution for the wrongs he’s done. One for the traumatized boys just barely out of childhood, one for the people whose families they’ll never see again, one for the lovers torn apart by jealousy, one for the injuries to innocent people, and on and on and on. Every vein that stops coursing blood, every artery that crushes down, can pay for the lashes on Kurt’s back and for every kiss he ever stole from Blaine’s lips, pretending it was some sick approximation of love.   
  
Finally, he tapes Sebastian’s mouth, winding it around his head several times to make sure he can’t rub it off when-- _ if _ \--he wakes. He decides to keep the tape as well, just in case, leaving the roll over his wrist.   
  
“Okay,” he says. “Come on, we’re going.”   
  
“Wait,” Kurt says. “Can we--should we send everything to my dad? Just in case?”   
  
Blaine nods in agreement.   
  
“Yeah, just one sec.”   
  
He loads the thumb drive and attaches everything to an email to Burt’s address. With a quick message to expect them soon, Blaine pulls the drive and pockets it, turning back to Kurt.   
  
He locks the office behind them and helps Kurt limp out and through the house, and it says something for Sebastian’s household when nobody gives a clearly injured Kurt a second glance--not the two guards stationed by the front hall, not the three house slaves they pass on their way to the harem. Blaine feels like he’s floating in a dream, like it’s not really happening, and he clings to that, hoping it’ll get him far enough away before he inevitably cracks under the stress. He’s close now--his breathing is coming shorter, and his heart is hammering far too hard for what physical strain he’s under. It’s going to crash eventually, but he needs to get them out before it happens.   
  
Kurt, on the other hand, bears up like a living embodiment of Atlas, wincing and gasping but otherwise trudging on, not a single complaint to be heard. Blaine loves him desperately in that moment.   
  
“What happened?”   
  
Nick stands in the common room, his eyes wide. He rushes forward, but Blaine pauses and holds up a hand to stall him.   
  
“Just let us go into Kurt’s room,” Blaine says. And then he takes a risk and decides to trust him--he’s not sure he can handle Kurt and packing and getting out all at once, and Nick has always been his friend. “Come in with us and I’ll explain.”   
  
When he has Kurt sitting on the bed, he immediately starts pulling out clothes, a few shirts and pants and some underwear and socks, and he selects an easy pair of ankle boots and brings it all out, setting it on the bed. He very carefully pulls Kurt’s briefs down, damp with sweat. He pulls out the wipes from his bedside table and gingerly cleans everything he can, grimacing at every one of Kurt’s hisses of pain as he works and talks.   
  
“Kurt and I are leaving,” he explains without ceremony. “Sebastian wasn’t jealous of him, he was jealous of me, and he whipped Kurt this morning. He had me come in and he was going to make me watch like he did with Jeremiah, and then he was going to lock me in his room and teach me a lesson just like he did last time. And I won’t lay back and let him fuck me into submission while he hurts someone I love.”   
  
“That’s what he did? Last time?” Nick asks, looking ill.   
  
“Yes,” Blaine says. “And he was going to do it again. Kurt and I were planning to leave anyway, but things have moved up a little.”   
  
“Where’s Sebastian right now?” Nick asks.   
  
“He’s bleeding on the floor of his office,” Blaine says, his voice cracking as saying the words brings the reality of it front and center. He takes a deep breath and pushes through. Sebastian doesn’t deserve his guilt, and somehow, all the pain that Sebastian ever caused Blaine wells up like blood from the wound on Sebastian’s head, and Blaine feels it draining from him. “He’s tied up. But who knows when Trent will need to go in there to get some papers, so he could be found anytime. We have to go.”   
  
Nick just nods.   
  
“I’ll go grab some stuff from your room,” he says, and bolts out.   
  
Blaine dresses Kurt, putting the loosest, softest shirt he could find on him. He tugs on new briefs, tight jeans, light socks, and the ankle boots, and brushes his hair with his fingers to make him look at least halfway presentable.   
  
“Does it--look tragic?” Kurt asks, his breath stuttering as the shirt shifts against his back.   
  
“You shouldn’t look this good, actually,” Blaine says, brushing his lips against Kurt’s forehead. “Are you ready to go?”   
  
“I’m ready.”   
  
Nick comes back just then, a small duffle bag in his hands that used to hold Blaine’s boxing gear. Now, when he lays it on the bed, Blaine sees some of his own clothes in it. Nick throws in Kurt’s things and zips it up.   
  
“Need any help?”   
  
“I think we got it,” Blaine says, throwing the strap of the bag over his free shoulder as Kurt takes his place against the other.   
  
Nick smiles at him sadly, and it’s then that Blaine realizes how selfish he’s been. Nick and Jeff are in love, too, and they could’ve escaped as well.   
  
“Nick, I’m sorry--” he begins, but Nick just shakes his head.   
  
“No, you gotta do what you gotta do,” he says simply. “If Jeff and I could’ve escaped, we’d have found a way by now.”   
  
“Come with us,” Kurt pipes up. “Get Jeff and just come with us, we’ll--”   
  
“We can’t,” Nick interrupts. “You guys going--you can probably slip out without too much notice, but all four of us? That’s too suspicious. We’ll get caught. Better some of us get out than none of us at all.”   
  
He smiles again.   
  
“Jeff and I were purchases, remember?” he says. “We can always try to get our freedom someday. We’re not farm slaves--we have identities, we have different rights. We’ll figure it out, we’ll find each other.”   
  
“It’ll happen soon,” Kurt assures. “We have evidence that can shut Sebastian down, maybe they’ll let you go.”   
  
“Yeah, maybe,” Nick replies doubtfully. “But you guys should go. Don’t wanna wait too long. I’ll go distract the guards--you guys wait here till we go by and then get out, okay?”   
  
Blaine nods. Nick nods back and slips out. Moments later, there’s yelling, and the sound of pounding feet. Nick peeks in and waves them out.   
  
Blaine pauses for only a moment. There’s nothing else he feels like he can say. This is it.   
  
He walks Kurt out of the harem, down the hall, and out into the garden.


	11. Chapter 11

It’s easier than it should be, leaving the only home he’s ever known. In fact, it’s positively simple. Blaine guides Kurt into the garage, finds the car he planned to take all along, and that’s it. He puts Kurt on the passenger side of the front bench seat, puts their bag in the back, and slides into the driver’s seat. Kurt lays across and Blaine allows him to pillow his head on Blaine’s thigh. And then he drives out, the garage and the gate opening with a push of a button.

The car is a 1967 Chevy Nova, not very subtle and terrible on gas, but it gets them away at a pretty good speed, and Blaine is familiar with it. When Sebastian first got his license, he’d bought this car and taken Blaine for a drive with it, and Blaine had treated him to road head, taking advantage of the roomy bench seats to lean across and do his best to make Sebastian have to pull over. He’d watched Sebastian driving for miles afterward, and a young, brash Sebastian had bragged about his knowledge of cars. Blaine had listened, and though it’s been many years, he remembers most of it, and extrapolates what he doesn’t know. Driving is easy once he figures it out, and he can always pull over and check the owner’s manual in the glove compartment if he gets confused.

When they’re away from the city and the road lengthens and empties, he pulls over and has what he thinks is a panic attack. He can’t catch his breath, his heart hammers painfully in his chest, and he starts sweating and shaking. Everything catches up to him, and it’s almost impossible to believe they’re alive and away. It’s that thought he hangs onto as he breathes through it, one hand on Kurt’s hair as he sleeps right on through it, completely oblivious.

To Kurt, this is going home. But to Blaine, this is  _ leaving _ home. However hated it was, he spent a great deal of his life there--his  _ entire _ adult life--and he’s going somewhere completely unknown. He lived the first fourteen years of his life on the Lima farm, yes, but he never left its walls, and he’s never seen outside of it. And the only time he ever left Sebastian’s was to go on the car ride with him--the remainder of his ten years of captivity were inside that same house, with only glimpses of the outside world. Everything that they drive past is beautiful and terrifying and Blaine feels like he’s flung himself headlong from the edge of a cliff--scary and high when he stood on the edge, with a view that would give the bravest man a sense of vertigo, but he was still on firm ground. Now he’s flying through the air, and the ground is approaching.

He hopes Kurt can somehow cushion his fall.

When his breathing evens and his head stops spinning, Blaine gets out and checks the car, taking the opportunity and hoping they won’t have to stop again for a while. He can’t decide if they’re just very lucky, or if Sebastian’s paranoia and preparation were entirely to blame. No tracking devices that he could find. A full gas can in the trunk, as well as an emergency kit. And in the glove box, along with the registration and the owner’s manual, an envelope contains five straps of twenties, giving them ten thousand dollars. Blaine almost loses his breath at the sight of it, stuffing it back into the compartment quickly and putting it out of his mind until they need it.

Kurt stays curled up in the seat for most of the day. The only time he sits up is when Blaine stops at a gas station along a mostly empty road. Blaine helps him use the bathroom, puts him back in, and then purchases some food and drinks and a map before he steals a license plate off a truck in the back and switches it out with Sebastian’s. After that, they’re off.

The road to Ohio is long, but they aren’t pulled over or stopped by anything other than the need to refuel and use the bathroom, so they make what Kurt says is good time, in between his uncomfortable naps. They reach Lima about half an hour before midnight, and Blaine gently wakes Kurt.

“How are you feeling?” he asks softly, pulling over and brushing some hair from Kurt’s forehead.

“I’ve been better,” Kurt says, wincing. “My back is still hurting and it’s just...really stiff.”

“We’ll take care of it as soon as we can,” Blaine promises. “Your dad’s expecting us, remember?”

“I do,” Kurt says. “I’m...I’m going to see him again, aren’t I?”

“As soon as you tell me the directions to your house,” Blaine corroborates, smiling.

Kurt bites his lip, and his eyes fill with tears. He smiles at Blaine and grabs his hand.

“Thank you,” he says earnestly. “I don’t think I ever did--just--thank you, for keeping me alive. I don’t know how any of this would’ve happened if you hadn’t been there.”

“I’ll always be there, Kurt,” Blaine says. “As long as I can.”

He leans over and kisses Kurt tenderly, the first they’ve shared since before they got in the car, but Blaine pulls back quickly.

“Let’s get to your house, okay?” He shifts back into drive. “The sooner we get there, the better.”

\--

Kurt’s house is dark when they drive past it, but Kurt is optimistic.

“My dad’s smart,” he says. “Let’s just park and walk back.”

“Can you manage?”

“It’s not far,” Kurt says dismissively. Blaine sighs and grabs the money and their bag before helping him out.

The walk isn’t long--they didn’t park too far away--but it is necessary, as they’re less than five miles from Sebastian’s farm. By the time they circle and reach the back of the house, though, Kurt is panting and limping again.

“When this is over,” he gasps, “I’m sleeping for a week.”

“I’ll be right there to take care of you,” Blaine says. “As soon as we get inside.”

They limp up the back porch, and immediately, the door opens. Blaine can’t make out any specific features of the man holding the door open, but Kurt pulls in a breath and squeezes Blaine’s hand too hard and then he’s tripping forward--

“Dad.”

“Kurt?”

“Dad!”

They’re pulled into the dark house, and then suddenly the light is on and Kurt is pulled away, wrapped in the arms of a big man, wincing but clinging right back. He trembles visibly and folds into the embrace, laughing and sobbing in palpable relief and elation that Blaine can’t even begin to imagine.

“I can’t believe it, Kurt--”

“I’m here, I’m back--Dad--”

Both men are crying, and Blaine feels like an intruder. Kurt is home, wrapped in the arms of his father, finally safe again, and a part of Blaine feels like he just doesn’t belong in this setting. He hasn’t had a parent hug him since he was taken away from his mother, and it’s not likely that he ever will again--but he can’t begrudge Kurt this at all. Blaine can see his smile from here, and he wants Kurt to be happy. So he sets the bag down and averts his eyes, giving them a moment together uninterrupted.

What must it be like, to reunite with someone so important after so long, after so much uncertainty and fear and pain? What must it be like to be  _ home _ again, to have that strength and steadiness just waiting and ready for him to return? What kind of burden is falling from Kurt’s shoulders, just knowing that his father, the most important person in his entire life, is  _ here _ and he can actually reach out and  _ touch _ him, reaffirming his status as the rock on which Kurt has built his entire life--

“Ow, ow--Dad--”

Blaine immediately turns back, reaching out for Kurt, whose face twists in pain as he stumbles. Burt has pulled back, his hands now on Kurt’s shoulders, and Blaine grabs Kurt’s hand where it’s reaching back to touch his back.

“Are you okay?” Blaine blurts, feeling a little stupid. He glances at Burt awkwardly and steps in to take charge of the situation, not sure how the imposing man will take it. He pulls Kurt back and gives Burt what he hopes is a reassuring look. “Let me check you out, it’s been a while--”

“What happened?” Burt asks, stepping back and looking Kurt up and down before his eyes dart between the two boys. “Kurt?”

“It’s okay, Dad,” Kurt assures. “I just--today--I--”

“Kurt’s hurt, sir,” Blaine explains, reaching for the hem of Kurt’s shirt. It’s strange, talking to him--he almost feels like he should start apologizing.  _ Shouldn’t you? _ says a treacherous wisp of self-hatred within him.  _ It’s your fault he’s like this--  _ “I should’ve put something on it earlier--”

“We were in a hurry, I told you not to--”

“Holy--what happened?”

Kurt’s back is revealed, and Burt’s face goes red at the sight of the hard welts. He hovers back and forth, like he doesn’t know what to do, before he steps in front of Kurt and puts his hands back on his shoulders, staring him directly in the eye.

“Did that scumbag slave dealer do this to you?” he demands. “You tell me, Kurt, and I’ll go right to New York and--”

“No, Dad, just--calm down,” Kurt says, stepping back and grimacing as Blaine helps him out of the shirt. Blaine sits him on the edge of a kitchen chair and starts looking him over, studying the tiny bits of dried blood on the shirt and the pattern of swelling over the skin. It definitely needs to be cleaned, at the very least--there’s sweat, tacky and uneven, and some lint from the shirt, and who knows where that whip had been anyway.

“Sir, do you have any ointment for this? Painkillers?” He looks up at Burt pleadingly. “We’ll explain everything, but I need to make sure he’s okay.”

“Yeah, sure.” Burt nods, and disappears around a corner, clearly flustered.

“How are you?” Blaine asks, squeezing Kurt’s hand. Kurt smiles down at him.

“I’ll be okay,” he says, squeezing back, sniffling and wiping his eyes with his free hand. He’s stunning, even when he cries--maybe more so. He’s not poised and cool, and he no longer puts Blaine in mind of an avatar of some unknown and unknowable god of desire and beauty burst forth from his marble statue--no, now he just looks human, splotchy and wet, his nose stuffed and bright red and his eyes leaking fat tears that make his eyelashes stick together. Blaine wants to kiss him with a fervency that could scare him. “I’m just--I’m  _ home. _ ”

Blaine cups Kurt’s cheek and smiles up at him.

“You are.” He brushes Kurt’s cheekbone with his thumb, wiping away a stray tear. “You’re free, Kurt.”

Kurt grabs Blaine’s hand on his face and presses it in, closing his eyes and breathing deep, his smile serene.

“So are you,” he says. “We’re both free, Blaine.”

Blaine gives in and leans up and kisses him, sweet and simple, still smiling the whole time. They’re  _ free _ .

“Something you got to tell me, Kurt?”

Burt raises an eyebrow at them as he enters and sets the supplies down on the table, and Blaine can’t help but smile at it--it looks like a face Kurt makes often. But the smile fades when Burt turns a baleful eye on him, and he composes himself and stays by Kurt’s side, supportive and unashamed, but truly terrified of what this man will think.

“Dad, I can explain--”

“I bet you can,” Burt says, raising his eyebrows and looking not at all impressed. “I think you’ve got a lot of things to say, so why don’t we start from the beginning?”

He sits at the table and nods, watching closely as Blaine tends Kurt’s back.

Kurt talks. He talks for a long time, starting with the night he was taken and going on until he reaches their escape. He hesitates twice--once when he gets to the part about his first night at the house, and once when he gets to his relationship with Blaine. At that point, he turns to Blaine, unsure.

“I love your son,” Blaine says readily, more than willing to take over for Kurt if he’s unsure. “I knew he was special from the first moment I saw him, and I was right. I’ll tell you now I tried very hard not to fall for him, because of the circumstances, but in the end there was nothing I could do to fight it. I’m just lucky he feels the same.”

Burt looks at him steadily. Blaine looks right back--Burt is a big guy, but he doesn’t feel threatening, not really. He’s afraid of his opinion, afraid he’ll want Blaine gone, but he trusts in Kurt and he trusts that this man will listen to his son. Kurt has said more than once that his father always listened. And from everything Kurt’s told him, first and foremost Burt thinks of his family. Blaine knows that it’s unusual, his relationship with Kurt. The age difference, and they way they met, and how long they’ve known each other--all of it would seem suspicious to him if he were a father. But he does love Kurt, and Kurt loves him, and Kurt has decided that this is what he wants. Blaine will stand by it as long as Kurt wants him, and he hopes Burt will, too.

“How old are you?”

“I’m twenty-four,” Blaine says honestly.

Burt removes his cap and rubs his head, sighing heavily.

“You love this guy, Kurt?”

Kurt nods.

“I do.”

Burt replaces his hat and sits back.

“Well, not much I can do, then,” he says. He shakes his head and breathes out in a puff. “You kept my boy safe out there, and you brought him home, and apparently he decided he wants you, so I won’t fight this. I don’t like it much, but you’re a big boy, Kurt, you can make up your own mind. Just treat each other right, okay? If you don’t, then I’ll have something to say about it.”

“He does treat me right,” Kurt replies. “He’s the only reason I’m here.”

Kurt doesn’t give details about what happened with Sebastian, but he doesn’t gloss over it, either. There’s a lot of blushing and stammering and shame on Kurt’s part; Burt covers his eyes and shakes his head on more than one occasion.

“I’m gonna kill him,” Burt says at one point. Blaine wonders if Sebastian’s even alive to kill after his head injury, but he keeps his mouth shut as Kurt keeps talking.

It’s very late by the time he finishes, and they’re all tired, but Kurt especially. He finishes with a yawn, and Blaine brushes his hair back.

“You need to sleep,” he says quietly, and Kurt nods. He looks up at Burt.

“Can we finish talking tomorrow?” he asks. Burt shuffles and sits forward.

“You can get to sleep in a minute,” he says. “I want to know where this evidence is. I’m not sleeping till I know you’re both safe. I got what you sent in the email but I want the hard copy.”

“I’ve got it here,” Blaine says, rushing over to the bag by the door and pulling out the thumb drive. He hands it over. “I’m going to take Kurt to his room now, let him get some rest.”

Burt nods.

“You get some sleep, too,” he says. “I’ve got some calls to make. Make yourself at home.”

“Thank you,” Blaine replies sincerely. Kurt stands unsteadily behind him and Burt steps forward. He looks like he wants to hug Kurt, but instead he lays a hand on his shoulder and kisses his forehead.

“I missed you, kid,” he says, his voice shaking with emotion. “Hardest thing I ever had to face, waking up and finding you gone.”

“I’m here now,” Kurt says, tears falling down his face again. He buries his face in Burt’s neck and holds around his waist. “I missed you, Dad. I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“Get to bed,” Burt says, patting Kurt’s arm a little awkwardly. “I’ll be here in the morning.”

Kurt turns to Blaine, and he grabs his hand, helping him to a door in the hall that Kurt says leads to his room. They go down into the basement and Blaine undresses Kurt down to his briefs before putting him in bed.

“Stay with me?” Kurt asks, holding out his hand and looking very young, his eyes wide and pleading. Blaine slips into bed with him and holds him gently in his arms, very careful of his back. Kurt kisses him tiredly before burrowing deeper into his embrace and sighing.

“I love you,” he whispers. Blaine can’t help but smile.

“I love you, too,” he says. “Sleep.”

\--

Blaine doesn’t sleep. He holds Kurt for a long time before he gives up, his head too full of worries and memories and fears of the future to relax. Finally, as light starts to fill the room through the window, Blaine rolls away from Kurt and leaves him slumbering on.

Burt is still in the kitchen when Blaine enters. He’s on the phone, but he acknowledges Blaine with a nod and holds up a finger for him to wait.

“Yeah--yeah\--I hear you, but I’m expecting someone to do something about this. I’ve got years’ worth of evidence here. I’m sure I’m not the only one whose kid got taken, and I bet those parents would be interested to see what I’ve got.... Yes. Yes, I’ll be here. You talk to Detective Lopez, she’ll know what’s up. Yes. Thank you.”

He hangs up and shakes his head, rubbing his eyes.

“You’d think having evidence meant something to these people,” he says, and Blaine joins him at the table.

“Sebastian’s a powerful man,” he says. “But I bet if you approached another slave dealer with the information they’d be happy to help you out with their own connections. There’s always rivalry going on, and a lot of people would be thrilled to see Sebastian taken down.”

“Well, I’d rather not deal with more scum than I have to,” Burt says frankly. “I know someone who can help us, though--hopefully she’ll be able to do something, but she won’t be in till later.” He looks up at Blaine and Blaine instantly feels like he’s being dissected. “Now. What can you tell me about you? I know you were in that house with Kurt, but I don’t know much else.”

“I was born on a farm,” Blaine says. “The Lima one, actually. I was trained to be a bed slave at age thirteen, and Sebastian bought me when I was fourteen.”

“You been a slave for ten years?”

“I’ve been a slave all my life,” Blaine explains. “I’ve just belonged to Sebastian for ten years.”

“All right,” Burt says, accepting the correction without comment. “Go on.”

“There’s not much else to tell,” Blaine says. “I ran Sebastian’s harem for him for the past four years or so. He keeps several boys and they’re all young, so they need someone in charge. That was me. I tended Sebastian as well, helped him bathe and dress and eat. I had quite a bit of influence with him.”

“And that’s how you helped Kurt.”

“Yes, sir,” Blaine says. “I did my best for him.”

“I’m sure you did what you could, and I appreciate it,” Burt says firmly. “Not everyone would’ve risked themselves like that, and I’m grateful you did.”

“I am too,” Blaine admits. “Kurt’s amazing, and I wish we’d met under different circumstances, but I’m not sorry we met.”

“I doubt he is either. That says something--he’s young, but he’s not dumb. And he knows his own mind, always has. He loves you, that’s it, and nothing I can do about it. But you seem like a good man.”

“Thank you,” Blaine says, hanging his head, unable to brush away all of the doubt that rises at that statement.

“Now, I’ve been doing my research,” Burt continues. “Kurt’s got rights, but you said you’re a farm slave. That means--”

“--it means I’m technically not a person,” Blaine finishes. “I know.”

“I’m going to do everything I can to make sure you get fair treatment. Least I could do for you, after all you did for my boy. These slave laws, they don’t make a whole lotta sense. And it’s high time someone did something about it. I’m going to do my best for you, Blaine, to keep you safe and away from these assholes who think they can treat human life like a product.”

“I--I appreciate that,” Blaine says, his voice unsteady. It’s the first time someone other than Kurt has treated him like he  _ matters _ . “I really do, sir. Thank you for all your help.”

“Well--you’re welcome,” Burt says, as though forcing himself past that bit of awkwardness. “Now I don’t know about you, but I’m bushed. I think we should both get some sleep--we got some long days ahead of us.”

“Good night,” Blaine says automatically, rising and blinking away some grittiness in his eyes, suddenly much more tired than he was when he sat down.

“Good morning!” Burt laughs, ambling away and up the stairs to his own room. Blaine smiles and huffs a quick laugh before heading back down into the basement. He’s reassured and comfortable in a way he wasn’t before. Ever since he knocked Sebastian out, he’s felt like he took a dive off a cliff, and he’s speeding toward the ground--no control over the speed or destination or what will happen when he hits the ground. And Burt just gave him what is hopefully a parachute--he won’t know until it’s time to pull the cord, but at least there’s a chance.

It’s cool in Kurt’s basement bedroom, and the air is very quiet and still. Kurt breathes deeply and calmly, his lips slightly parted. Blaine smiles down at him and strips down to his underwear, sliding into the smooth sheets until he finds the pocket of warmth that Kurt’s body inhabits. He settles into it, pressing up against every inch of Kurt’s skin that he can, and within minutes, he falls asleep.

\--

When Blaine wakes, he wakes alone. It’s much later in the day, and he feels mostly rested, his limbs only aching a little bit from the long drive the day before. He rises and dresses and heads up the stairs.

Kurt and Burt are at the kitchen table with a woman when he enters. She’s older, probably close to Burt’s age, very pretty and well-groomed. She rises when he enters and shakes his hand.

“Detective Lopez,” she says, her voice accented. “You’re Blaine?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Blaine replies. She nods and gestures to a seat.

“I want you to know first thing that I will do everything in my power to bring Sebastian Smythe down,” she says evenly. “I’ve got a daughter about your age, and it’s hard to sleep at night knowing that men like that could take my Santana and not face consequences. So I won’t stop until he’s done, and until people realize that these laws go too far to protect the dealers rather than the people they oppress.”

“That’s...good,” Blaine says uncertainly, a little thrown by the passion of her speech.

“There are some issues, though,” she continues. “I can protect Kurt--he was taken illegally, and we have all the evidence. But you were born on a farm, and as much as I disagree with the laws on this account, you are legally a slave. You don’t have any rights that I or a lawyer could defend. Sebastian has every right to demand you back; if he’s indicted, whoever inherits the estate can do the same, or you could be sold at auction should the government seize his assets. The only chance we have is if a judge grants you freedom on a plea bargain against Sebastian, and that’s a long shot. Chances are, you will be sold again.”

“There’s nothing we can do?” Kurt asks incredulously, indignant and angry. Blaine rests a hand on Kurt’s shoulder.

“I’m afraid not,” Detective Lopez admits. “The best I could do is ensure that he isn’t punished by the state for assaulting his owner and running away, given that he was helping you out. But if he goes back to Sebastian, he could always carry out that punishment himself with no recourse.”

“That’s completely unfair,” Kurt bursts out. “Blaine is just as much a person as I am!”

“He is,” Burt chimes in. “But not in the eyes of the law.”

“What do I have to do?” Kurt demands. “Can I buy him? Can I set him free?”

“You could buy him,” Detective Lopez says, nodding. “If you could afford him, and if Sebastian or his next owner were willing to give him up. He’s past prime age, but he’s an expensive slave. He’s experienced, he’s in good shape, and he belongs to one of the most powerful men in the country. He’s valuable.”

“There must be something--”

“Burt, I’ll let you take over here,” she says. Then she stands, and very deliberately, announces, “I’m going outside for a cigarette. I’ll be on the front porch for the next fifteen minutes.”

She walks out, and Burt pulls a ring of keys from his pocket and lays it on the table before Blaine. The sound of the metal crashing together against the wood is jarring, and Blaine stares at them with comprehension dawning slowly as Burt speaks.

“There you go,” he says. “I checked your bag--you got clothes in there, and your money, and I packed some more stuff. Some food for the road, a prepaid cell. My number’s programmed in it, and Detective Lopez put hers in, too. The truck’s got a full tank, and a few full gas cans in the back. There’s an emergency road kit under the passenger’s seat. I tuned her recently, and everything’s up to snuff. She’s an automatic, so you shouldn’t have any trouble driving her.”

“Where is he going?” Kurt asks, clutching Blaine’s arm.

“He’s going to hide until we can figure out how to help him, or until the trial, whichever comes first,” Burt says. “There’s a map in the car, I marked where you’re going. It’s a cabin, up in Michigan--belongs to Detective Lopez, and it’s off the books, so anyone looking should have some trouble finding you there. There’s cell service and the cabin’s modern, so you won’t be in a shack and you’ll be able to stay in contact.”

“I’m going with him,” Kurt says.

“Kurt--”

“No, Kurt--”

“You can’t stop me,” Kurt says, going to stand next to Blaine. “Dad, I need to go with him, I need to make sure he stays safe. He did the same for me.”

Burt shakes his head.

“I don’t like it, Kurt.”

“I’m staying with him,” Kurt says, his tone brooking no argument. “What if this doesn’t work? What if he needs to run? I’m not going to let him run alone. He’s in this situation because of me.”

“Kurt, that’s not entirely true--”

“I’m not letting him leave like this,” Kurt says. “Now, we have about ten more minutes before the detective comes back in. We can leave quietly like she needs us to, or you can fight me till she comes back and force me to stay. But I’ll just follow him later.”

Burt frowns.

“Kurt, please,” Blaine says. “We’ll be together soon--”

“No we won’t!” Kurt cries. “You don’t know that. You could be taken away and sold and I’ll never see you again. And I can’t...I can’t live with that.”

“Go,” Burt says. “Goddamnit, Kurt. Just go. We’ll talk about this when you get back.”

Kurt immediately grabs Blaine’s hand and the bag from the door and rushes out the back, tugging Blaine along. Blaine tries to pause Kurt, but Kurt just pulls him on, into the garage through a back door and into the truck.

“Kurt, are you sure--”

“Yes, I’m sure,” Kurt says, clicking a button on a remote attached to the visor above his head. The garage door rumbles open and Blaine backs out carefully, unsure of his skill with the truck. But soon they’re out on the street, and driving easily away.

Detective Lopez turns her back and goes inside as they round the corner.

\--

A sign on the edge of the path says “Lopez,” and that’s the only reason they can tell the cabin apart from all the others they’ve passed through the campground. It’s fairly isolated, surrounded by trees with only the dirt path winding back to the surprisingly large wooden structure. As they park and look around, it’s clear why this was chosen as a good place to hide--it’s difficult to see anything of the other cabins nearby through the trees, and the only open area is by the water, but in the cool weather no one is down enjoying the lake except a few boats in the distance.

When they get inside, aided by a key added to the ring Burt gave them, Kurt gazes around in wonder. “Cabin” might have been a loose term--Blaine’s sure that even Sebastian would’ve been happy with this. It has a lodge-like feel, all exposed wood and stone, but with modern appliances and far too much room for just the two of them. 

“I approve,” Kurt says, a little breathless, when they find the master bedroom. It’s huge, and luxurious without being garish. The colors are simple, the wood polished, the fabrics soft. The bathroom is entirely stone and glass and grey porcelain, with a jacuzzi tub and a shower that looks like it came out of a magazine, jets lining every wall. It’s gorgeous, and Blaine is grateful for the chance to stay here, especially as the length of the stay is indefinite.

“I’m going to call my dad,” Kurt says. “Let him know we’re here.”

He shuffles a bit, biting his lip, and Blaine sets their bag down and takes his hands, lifting them to his lips and brushing across them.

“What is it?” he asks, feeling the nerves rolling off of Kurt. He leans his cheek into Kurt’s hands and smiles up at him.

“I don’t even know,” Kurt admits with a laugh. “Just...everything that’s happened...it’s hard to process. It all happened so fast. Thirty-six hours ago we were asleep in Sebastian’s house and everything was going as usual, but now...”

“I know it’s a lot,” Blaine agrees. “I can barely believe it myself. I mean, yesterday I was a slave, and now...”

Blaine trails off, suddenly catching what Kurt meant. Everything suddenly feels surreal. He takes a deep breath and gathers himself--he can fall apart later. Right now, Kurt needs him.

“Why don’t you go call your dad,” he continues, “and I’ll go in the bathroom and fill up that tub, and we’ll relax. What do you say?”

“I think that’d be great,” Kurt says, smiling. Blaine kisses him, quick and soft, and turns away, heading into the bathroom.

Kurt walks in when the tub is almost full. Blaine turns from his seat on the edge of the tub and grins, holding his arms out. Kurt steps between them and Blaine leans his chin on Kurt’s stomach, looking up at him adoringly as Kurt brushes his fingers through his hair.

“Hi,” he mumbles, closing his eyes and savoring the feeling of Kurt’s nails on his scalp.

“Hi,” Kurt chuckles. “I think the bath is full.”

“Mmm,” Blaine whines, perfectly ready to stay in Kurt’s arms like this for the rest of the day, but he turns and shuts the faucet off anyway before standing. “We should get in, then.”

He steps back and undresses slowly, dropping his clothes carelessly to the side. Kurt watches him closely, gaze heated as it follows the revelation of skin. When Blaine is totally naked, and half-hard from the intensity of Kurt’s gaze, he steps forward.

“Let me help you,” he says, reaching for the hem of Kurt’s shirt. Kurt nods, and gingerly lifts his arms.

He undresses Kurt carefully, handling him as delicately as he can, palms hovering over skin and fingers just brushing the fine layer of hair over Kurt’s arms and legs and stomach. When he’s fully stripped, Blaine is crouched down, tossing away the briefs he’d just slid down Kurt’s legs. He finally places his hands fully on Kurt, cupping his calves and sliding up as he kisses the front of his thighs, trailing up his hips and stomach and chest with his lips until Kurt is panting, arms tense at his sides.

“Blaine--please--”

“Let’s get in the tub,” Blaine suggests, voice deep and husky. He helps Kurt into the tub before sliding in behind him, bracketing Kurt with his legs.

“I’m going to wash you up, okay?” Blaine says. Kurt nods, and Blaine gently lays his hands on Kurt’s back.

He hisses, but he doesn’t flinch away. The welts aren’t nearly as red or as tender as the day before, and the places that had torn open are now scabbed over.

“Does it hurt much?” Blaine asks, reaching for a soft washcloth and grabbing a bar of soap that smells of rosewood.

“It’s sore,” Kurt replies. “And I can’t move much, or it pulls tight. But it’s not bad if I don’t move.”

“It’ll feel better soon,” Blaine promises, tiny prickles of guilt pushing at the back of his mind. Kurt’s injuries are his fault, but burdening Kurt with that guilt won’t help now. “He only broke the skin in a few places; the rest should disappear tomorrow or the next day.”

There’s silence as Blaine washes Kurt’s back, and the moment, intimate and tender, washes over Blaine, filling him with a warmth that has nothing to do with the heat of the water.

“Does this count as me keeping my promise for our future?” Blaine asks, kissing Kurt’s wet shoulder. “I know it’s not a backrub, but it’s the best I can do right now.”

Kurt turns over, kneeling between his legs. He leans forward and kisses the corner of Blaine’s mouth.

“Let’s pretend,” Kurt asks, and it feels like a plea despite the surety in his voice. “Let’s pretend it is our future, and this is our house, and we’ll do everything you said we would. We’ll cook dinner and dance and sing and make love and...everything. Everything we want.”

“Okay,” Blaine says. He’d agree to anything Kurt wanted-- _ anything _ . And with the future seeming so precarious, this could be it. It could be their only chance to really  _ have _ that dream, to hold it between them like a wish, whispered into the dark because the light could destroy it. Here, away from the world that held both of them down, they could rise together, even if it was all an illusion.

The illusion is more beautiful than the truth. They deserve to live in that beauty, if only for a few days.

So Blaine washes them off, not quite reaching everything because they refuse to part from each other’s arms for even a moment. And when they leave the bath, on a whim fueled by the romance of the sun setting and their promises, Blaine lays Kurt out before the fireplace, trying to light it unsuccessfully for several minutes until Kurt laughs and does it himself. It’s not the perfect vision Blaine had of drying before the fire he built for them, but it’s close enough, and seeing Kurt smile like that is worth the little bit of embarrassment at his fumbling where he’d hoped to be smooth.

They kiss in front of the fire, the warmth of it drying them over time. Kurt lays above Blaine, indolent and sensuous in the twist of his hips. Blaine lets Kurt do as he wishes, never pushing for more, balancing on a fine edge of arousal that could quickly become desperate. But Kurt just kisses him, content to keep them both halfway to frustration, until his stomach growls and he pulls Blaine up, leading him through the house without a stitch of clothing between them to raid the fridge.

It’s perfect. They don’t cook much--they grill some chicken and boil some rice, simple and easy, far different from the rich foods they’d both been used to in captivity. They dance, ridiculous and bare and sliding on the cool tiles, and Blaine’s right hip is splattered by some hot oil, but Kurt kisses it teasingly better and Blaine almost loses it at the sight of Kurt peering up at him through his lashes with his tongue darting out to taste skin. He almost bends Kurt over the counter and lets the dinner burn, but Kurt spins away and plates their food and they eat at the counter, hips bumping together as they race to finish.

The dishes are left dirty and there’s food spilled on the counter, but it’s ignored as they stumble back to the bedroom, silly and happy and tasting of the spices Kurt sprinkled on the chicken. Again, Blaine lets Kurt take over, lets him lay Blaine out and kiss him breathless. He spreads his thighs and wraps his heels around Kurt’s calves, and they thrust together clumsily. Blaine comes fast and hard, too piqued from the prolonged tease, and Kurt chuckles at him until Blaine slithers down beneath him and sucks him without preamble, letting Kurt straddle his shoulders and fuck his mouth until he comes with a cry. They collapse laughing, kissing and giggling and giddy with their game of make-believe.

Blaine doesn’t think about what he’ll have to do soon. He doesn’t think about being sold again, or  facing Sebastian again, or testifying in court. He doesn’t think about running away and becoming someone else and he doesn’t think about the possibility of losing Kurt. In this moment, in this retreat, he holds Kurt close and breathes, and thinks of nothing at all but how beautiful Kurt is, asleep with a smile on his face.


	12. Chapter 12

They stay at the cabin for eleven days. Everyday is a spiral of happiness that keeps whirling higher, and by the end Blaine knows the inevitable fall back down will hurt. If only he and Kurt could stay there forever, spinning up until everything is just heaven on earth--

But they can’t. Burt calls them back, and it’s time for Blaine to testify. It means that Sebastian can be held accountable with more certainty, but it also means that Blaine will have to face the law himself.

He’ll be taken. He’ll be sold, if he’s lucky, or if he’s not, he’ll be charged with assault and attempted murder and with being a runaway slave. And slaves who are charged don’t go to a prison with three meals a day and private beds like the prison Sebastian will face. No, slaves who are charged go to special work camps and mines and farms to serve their sentences in chains, forced into hard labor--labor that is far harder than that of normal slaves--until they die from the strain.

Kurt begs him to run. He pleads and demands and cries and yells, but Blaine can’t just walk away from this. Sebastian could continue as he is, without Blaine’s testimony. Sebastian could simply blame Blaine for everything, and he might get a suspicious glance but it’s far easier to blame a slave who can’t be found than to hold a powerful, wealthy man accountable, especially when he has the ability to whisper dollar signs into appropriate ears. But if there’s no excuse, if Blaine can show unequivocally that Sebastian is guilty, even his money won’t be able to save him.

He has to go. For Kurt, for the other boys and girls like him that were stolen from their homes, for all the ones that are still safe in their beds that could someday catch a dealer’s attention. Blaine  _ has _ to do this. It’s not just Sebastian that will be under scrutiny--this could change  _ everything _ . The laws are wrong, but nobody pays attention to just how wrong. If the most influential dealer in the country is held accountable for his actions, if everything is revealed...things could change.

And maybe, one day, Blaine could be free.  _ Really _ free.

So he goes.

Detective Lopez picks him up when they arrive back in Lima. He holds Kurt close one last time, and goes willingly, torn between letting himself lose the last memory of Kurt with tears on his face and keeping every last minute in his heart.

There’s a police station, and an interview room, and a camera. He’s told that he won’t appear in court personally, because he doesn’t have that right. He’s evidence, not a witness. He’s offered a glass of water, but only by Detective Lopez. Mostly, he waits.

Finally, an older man with a mustache and greying hair comes in, and asks him questions, the red light of the camera steadily burning at his peripherals. He tells everything--all the abuse, all the boys taken illegally, all the papers and the notes hidden away. They tell him they have the thumb drive, and all the evidence, and they make sure he knows that if he’s found to be lying, he’ll be given back to Sebastian to face whatever punishment he deems fit--that is, if Sebastian doesn’t press charges and let them take care of it. He agrees, and that’s it--he’s left there, locked in, alone.

He’s cold, and hungry, and tired, and bored. He fidgets and sighs and nothing changes, and there’s no clock to keep track of the time. He hopes Detective Lopez will come in and check on him, but she doesn’t, and neither does anyone else. By the end of the day, he’s surprised they didn’t just shove him in an evidence locker and be done with it.

Finally, the door opens.

“Come on,” an officer says, someone he hasn’t seen before. “You’re done here.”

“Where am I going?” Blaine asks warily, eyeing him as he stands from the table, his back cracking and his limbs stiff from being in the room so long.

The officer checks the file in his hand.

“Says here you’re part of an estate, so back to that, I’d guess,” he says. “I’m just taking you to the car.”

Blaine nods, and follows him out. His eyes prickle, and his mouth tenses and draws down, and it’s almost impossible not to cry. He’s tired and overwhelmed and all he can think is that he wouldn’t get to say goodbye to Kurt, or to the life they’d promised each other.

So he does it silently, with every step. 

Goodbye to the dancing 

_ step _

and the dinners 

_ step _

and the baths 

_ step _

and the cuddling 

_ step _

and the kissing 

_ step _

and making love 

_ step _

and the way Kurt’s hair flips just a bit at the ends when it’s messy 

_ step _

and how he blinks when he’s sleepy 

_ step _

and the way his lips twitch when he’s fighting a smile 

_ step _

and his skin 

_ step _

and his voice 

_ step _

and  _ Kurt _ \--

“Just a moment, please.”

Detective Lopez rushes forward, her heels clacking on the colorless tiles. Blaine turns back and she offers him a faint smile.

“I’ll take over from here,” she says to the officer, taking Blaine’s with one hand and holding out the other for the folder. “New information came in, new paperwork--I’ll need him just a little bit longer.”

She tugs him away, and he follows unsteadily, trying to catch up.

“What is--”

“Hush.”

Blaine snaps his mouth shut and just follows until they reach the front of the building, and a little room with a table surrounded by chairs. Inside, Burt sits easily in a chair while Kurt paces back and forth. Blaine’s heart shatters at the sight of him.

_ I can say goodbye-- _

“Blaine!” Kurt gasps, and he runs forward and throws himself into Blaine’s arms. Blaine catches him, and the dam is broken--tears rush from his eyes, and he sobs into Kurt’s neck, clutching tight, fingers bunching up Kurt’s shirt and pressing hard enough that it must hurt. But Kurt just holds him, murmuring soothingly and rocking back and forth.

“It’s okay,” Kurt says, his own voice thick with tears. “It’s going to be okay, I promise.”

“It--I-- _ Kurt _ .” Blaine holds tighter, holds on. Maybe if he holds on hard enough, they won’t be able to pry him away, they’ll  _ understand _ \--he won’t  _ survive _ this...

“I’m never saying goodbye to you,” Kurt promises. “Never.”

“Is there anything we can do?” Burt asks in the background, somewhere behind them. Blaine steels himself for the answer he knows is coming.

_ No _ , she’ll say,  _ I’m afraid there’s not. It’s time to say goodbye. _   
  
“As a matter of fact, there is.”

His head shoots up, turning to stare at Detective Lopez. She’s smiling, holding up some paperwork. Blaine’s heart leaps, stuttering in his chest.

“What is that?” he demands. This isn’t funny, this is a cruel joke, she can’t say there’s something they can do when he  _ knows _ \--

“It’s a bill of sale,” Detective Lopez replies. She looks down at the papers with a tiny smirk. “I am now the proud owner of a slave, ID number 03219417, commonly called Blaine, from Farm 17 in Lima, Ohio, age 24, previously owned by Sebastian Smythe.”

“Wait, what?” Kurt blurts, still holding Blaine close. Blaine is grateful he asked the obvious question--he doesn’t feel capable of speaking, himself.

“Blaine, I just bought you,” she explains candidly, the smirk still present on her face. “For the altogether ridiculous sum of one dollar.”

“How?” Blaine asks, finally able to open his mouth. “I don’t understand.”

“I made a visit to Sebastian Smythe’s second home in Westerville this afternoon,” Detective Lopez says. “I heard he was there on a little vacation, apparently recovering from an injury. Naturally, with the case against him, I went to speak to him when the opportunity arose. We’re lucky he was there, because I was able to inform him that his presence would be needed to discuss the charges against him. Of course, the subject of his missing slave came up, and I explained the situation. I promised him that he’d be found guilty and said I’d like to buy you before you were charged or liquidated with the rest of his estate. I told him he might as well get something out of it, and I was prepared to offer him a decent sum as well as a word in the ear of the prosecution, but he cut me off. Had his clerk draw up this bill and demanded one dollar for your sale. I asked for the catch but it turns out there wasn’t one--for whatever reason, he let you go.”

She hands the paper to Blaine, who looks it over. It is legal--he’d seen Sebastian’s paperwork plenty over the years, and it is perfectly legitimate. Sebastian’s signature, clear terms. He’s been sold--he is now the property of Maribel Lopez.

“But--but why?”

“You’d have to ask him,” she replies, “though I’d advise against it.”

So he’ll never know. And he has to admit, he’s burning with curiosity. After all this trouble, after going so far to keep Blaine, why would he let him go so easily? He had clearly come to Ohio for something other than recovery--Sebastian hadn’t visited once in the entire time Blaine had been in his service. Only after Blaine came here did he leave his New York home. So why would he follow him here if not to get him back? Why would he throw him away like that?

The only thing Blaine can think is that something Detective Lopez said convinced him. For some reason, he wanted Blaine neither sold nor punished. Only when he realized he wouldn’t be getting Blaine back for himself did he let him go. He could have left Blaine’s fate to chance, but he’d willingly made it easy for Blaine to be sold to someone who cared enough about his well being to go behind the backs of everyone on this case and buy him herself. And Blaine’s sure Sebastian is smart enough to understand that Kurt would have something to do with this.

He gave up Blaine to Kurt. When he couldn’t have him for himself, he let Blaine have what he wanted most. For Sebastian, Blaine’s wants came only second to his own. That, or he decided that Kurt, for whatever reason, would be the next best thing to himself.

Because Kurt loves Blaine.

His last act as Blaine’s master was to make sure Blaine would be taken care of by someone who loves him. Because, in Sebastian’s mind, Blaine had  _ always _ been taken care of by someone who loved him.

Has it always been as simple as that?

Detective Lopez takes the paperwork back from his numb fingers and turns to Burt, the smirk widening.

“Now, the funny thing is, I don’t actually find myself in need of a slave,” she says. “So I think I should auction him off. Do I have a bid?”

Burt smiles and nods approvingly before his mouth twists in amusement. Blaine’s breath catches.

“Fifty cents.”

“A dollar,” Kurt pipes in. Blaine turns and looks at him hopefully. They can finally be done, Detective Lopez is paid back, Sebastian doesn’t  _ own _ him anymore--

“Buck fifty.”

He feels like he can’t take in enough air. He understands the elated air swirling through the room but he can’t take it, it’s too much--

“Five dollars,” Kurt says, and Burt raises his eyebrows, as though impressed.

“High roller,” Burt comments. Blaine wants to beg him not to draw this out any longer, he can’t take it-- “Seven fifty.”

“Ten dollars.”

No more--he can’t handle the joking anymore, it’s too close, he’s  _ too close _ \--

“Sold,” Detective Lopez announces. “I made ten times profit, I think that’s high enough. I’ll sign him over, and he’s officially yours. Congratulations.”

It’s over.

Blaine stares at Kurt, who grins at him.

“So?” he asks. He sees Blaine’s shock and his face falls. “Oh, no, are you mad? Is this--was that not okay?”

He hears Burt and the detective agree to give them a moment and leave the room, but it hardly registers as he stares into Kurt’s eyes. All joking is aside, it’s  _ over _ .

“Why would it not be okay?”

“I just...bought you,” Kurt says uncertainly. “I...I know it’s not perfect, you’re a  _ person _ , you’re worth so much more than ten dollars, but it’s the only way, and...I didn’t mean to make a joke of it, I--”

Blaine cuts him off with a kiss, and the smile starts growing on his face.

“Kurt, I don’t care that you bought me,” he says. “I don’t care how much you paid and I don’t care if I’m not legally free. I’m...I’m  _ yours _ .”

Kurt’s smile returns, growing slowly and filling Blaine’s heart as it spreads.

“You’re--you’re okay with it?”

“Kurt, on what earth would I ever be upset about belonging to you?” He pulls Kurt in and nuzzles against his face, close and warm and so, so happy. “I already did. Now it’s official.”

“But...but you’re still a slave. We won’t ever be able to be ourselves--”

“We will,” Blaine says. “We’ll go somewhere no one knows I’m a slave, and we’ll...we’ll figure it out. Even if I have to pretend, even if I have to kneel at your feet when we’re around other people, I don’t care. I’d do it anyway.”

He cups Kurt’s cheek and kisses him.

“I’m yours,” he whispers, grinning and feeling lighter than he ever has. His shackles are gone--maybe not to the world, but to them. And that’s the only thing that matters to Blaine. He’s been sold to the man he loves, a man who will never treat him like he’s a slave. He’ll never have to serve a master again.

He’s  _ free _ .

“I’m yours, too,” Kurt replies. “Not on paper, but...I am. Always.”

Kurt kisses him again, and again, and again.

“Always.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After original publication on Tumblr, I had a Q&A, and if you'd like to learn more (what happens after, tidbits on the characters, etc), head over and check out the masterpost on my sidebar. Under the links to Tasting Flight, there's a link to click for the Q&A. Just be warned that not all stories end happily. Thank you for reading.


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